Before you offer a washcloth

Be honest. Have you ever sat there and thought to yourself hmmm I am so glad that so and so was in church today to hear that message... they really needed to hear that sermon... or maybe they weren't there and you were wishing that they had been?

Honestly I think this has happened to all of us at some point or another if we are really honest with ourselves but when we do this, when we fall into that trap of thinking of someone else's problems we lose sight of our own problems. 

This is why in Matthew 7:5(HCSB) Jesus says "Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye." 

He is instructing those listening in (including us btw) to stop holding those around them to a different standard (a higher standard) than they held themselves 

Eugene Peterson has a great take on this passage - Matthew 7:1-5

“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.

And the next time you are sitting in church and those thoughts pop into your head? Rather than looking at someones failings try to look at their strengths. You should also take a closer look at your own life because if those thoughts are popping up someone is trying to distract you from receiving a message... just sayin...