Facing truth, requires that people be mature; grown up, and evenly balanced. Isn’t it a bit odd, that we can claim that we know so much truth about other people, but we cannot see the truth about ourselves? It’s likely, you will never even convince many, of what the writer also said here. That many of the things we judge other people about, we are doing ourselves. And if we do not see that, we will never repent over much of anything.

I remember years ago, when I was much younger, when I heard someone preaching, that the letters Paul wrote in the New Testament, were to the church. Young and naïve, it didn’t make sense to me, that the people in the church, would be doing some of these things. Later, I would come to see, that it was true; because sooner or later, I saw people acting like that. I heard in a group meeting once, that the action of always pointing out other people’s faults or sins, was only a diversion; a means of escaping the need to work on your own.

A hardness, and impenitent heart. It would do us all good, to go back and read, all of the things that we can do to one another. Like, backbiting, gossiping, spreading rumors and being a real talebearer, passing judgment before we now all the facts, control, envying, jealousy, division, holding grudges, suppressing people’s Spiritual gifts; showing partiality to some, and not to others. There are those who take great care to direct people’s attention to what they feel is serious sin, and not repent one day, over any of the above things they are doing and have done, for a very long time.

A simple, but important truth, is that those who feel that they have done nothing wrong, do not repent. Jesus talked about the beam in their own eye; but you can be sure, they don’t believe that. One of the sad things about all this, they feel they have the right to do the things they do. Some, even call it standing up for the truth. You could talk all day about how we must manifest the fruit of the Spirit, if we are truly filled with Him; it goes right over their head. They do not understand, that self-righteousness, is merely, a deflection.

It’s always a bit itchy, when you hear someone say they are sorry; and they’re not; it’s just to please somebody or an attempt to get themselves off the hook. These are not sorry; or penitent, they are unrepentant, they feel no regret about their own sin, they are not ashamed and are devoid of remorse. This, is what’s in their heart. These never admit, that they’ve driven people away; that they have not healed the sick, or sought sheep that were lost. And they go right on doing, what they’ve always done.

Truth is, we’ve all been a bit like this, at times. The question is, when did we repent?

~ Robert Blackburn

Robert Blackburn