Patrick Lawlor of Littleton, Colorado could not find any relief from a throbbing toothache. Tylenol, Motrin, aspirin, nothing worked. Finally, he decided to go to the dentist and after x-rays the problem became evident, a 4-inch nail lodged in his mouth. Lawlor, a carpenter, had been wielding a nail gun he thought randomly back-fired. Little did he know, the nail had indeed backfired, into his mouth! My advice to him, “Don’t fix anything until you get the nail out of your face bro!”
Jesus would say the same thing, only with much more wisdom and grace:
Matthew 7:1-5
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
I can’t help but think how helpful this is for all of us as we approach social media. Before we press “post,” “tweet,” or “comments,” we examine our hearts. We ask the Lord to see whether or not there are any 4-inch nails we need to deal with?
Jesus goes on to say something a bit more harsh than I would (pigs and dogs), but He’s the King of Kings and I’m……..me?!
Matthew 7:1-6
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Jesus is warning us to know your audience! Do you have a relationship with your audience? Do you have time and space to nuance complex issues? If not, and you just throw something out there, don’t be surprised when you’re attacked despite the fact what you are saying may be right and true.