Rev. Don Campbell

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, MAY 11, 2017: THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK

Those who are always taking potshots at a brother and sister in Christ, even from the pulpit—no, especially from the pulpit—are often the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. They are trying to draw attention away from the fact that they are guilty of the very things for which they slay others with their tongues and pens.

The Message does a good job of putting Jesus’ warning into the language of our day:

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor (Matt 7:1-5).