I've always said that a lot of the world's problems would be solved if people were just a little bit self-aware. It's a thought that crosses my mind every time I'm in a shopping center and someone walking in front of me with their shopping cart just... stops. Maybe they're trying to find a particular item on their shopping list. Maybe they got lost in the store. Maybe they had to pause and contemplate the mysteries of the universe. All I know for certain is they are blocking the entire aisle and seem blissfully unaware of all the people behind them who can't get through. Their focus is in the wrong place.
Another place I see this is on social media. There is a tendency of many to see a Facebook or Instagram post talking about "how some people act" and immediately we jump to thoughts of individuals whom may have hurt us. We instantly jump to the wrongdoings of others against us instead of stopping to ponder how we might have wronged others.. I saw a Facebook post like this weeks ago that talked about how "some people" can be bad friends. The responses were largely from individuals who were pointing out how they had been wronged. Ironically, some posts had a hint of righteousness by pointing out how they had taken the high ground.
But is it the high ground? Is it the high ground to always see moral and spiritual lessons (whether it be in the form of a sermon, Bible study, or social media post) as some sort of indictment of others? We get a glimpse of an answer in a passage of scripture which is, perhaps, the most misquoted in all Christianity,
1 “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. 3 Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?5 Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5)
While it's common for people to focus on the line "do not judge", the real lesson here is in verse 3 where Christ gives us a good idea of how we should process spiritual and moral critiques. We are called to first hold ourselves accountable (e.g., to be "self-aware"), and only then turn to look at our brothers and sisters who may have hurt us.
Our society is fascinated by focusing on when we were wronged instead of when we have wronged. It breeds a type of spirit which lacks the selfless motivations of Christ and fails to reflect the type of "servant's heart" we are called to hold. In fact, if we were to break down all of the lessons on virtue given by Christ, what we would find is that they almost exclusively challenge us to count our own wrongs while almost never focus on the counting of wrongs of other people.
It's ironic that so many Christians, organizations, and churches focus so much attention on the corruption, sin, and misconduct of the lost world around them while ignoring the softer, kinder forms of sin which are so often commonplace within their own walls.
So I ask you this: when we see a convicting line in a Bible reading, study, worship song, book, or social media post, are we being self-aware of our own shortcomings and focusing on how we can improve, or are we falling into the cultural trap of ignoring our own flaws to immediately jump to how others have wronged us? More importantly, which response seems to more reflect the selfless, merciful, and graceful nature of Christ? Are we being self-serving, or self-aware?
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