Beams and Motes

The story of beams and motes is found in the New Testament, Matthew 7:3-5.  To paraphrase, the question is asked, "Why do you notice the mote in your brother's eye and not notice the beam in your own eye?"  "First get rid of the beam in your eye and then worry about the mote in your brother's eye."  A beam refers to a large wooden beam, the kind used to build houses.  A mote is a tiny speck or splinter.

How often do we spend our time worrying about things that don't really matter?   How often do we ignore the large, important issues in our own lives?  I think it's human nature to turn our focus on small, insignificant problems because we don't want to face the big ones.  Yet it's the big problems that, when acknowledged and corrected, make the greatest impact for good.  You know which problems I'm talking about...the things that are holding you back from being the best person you can be.  It might be a bad habit or doing things a certain way that doesn't work.  It might be an attitude that needs adjusting.  Whatever it is, it doesn't have to define you or confine you. 

Sometimes it helps to step back and try to see the big picture and regain the proper perspective on the issue.  You know the saying..."You can't see the forest for the trees."  The same holds true for the things that we deal with every day.  Often, if we take care of the big things, the little things get taken care of too.