Over the years I've heard many a message talking about how it's not all about me. But today I had this grand revelation. Haha...well, not really that grand, I suppose. Anyway, I was thinking about how many times I've sat at church services over the years, listening to a message and I thought, "Oh I wish____was here to hear this message." Or maybe I was reading my Bible and thought "This is a verse_____needs to read." But guess what...it's not a message or a Bible verse for someone else. It's for ME. Every word written in those pages of scripture was written for me. Every time I see something that stands out I need to examine my own heart. I need to see where I need to change. I can't change the world, but with God's help I can change me. 

Matthew 7:3-5 says:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Meditating on that made me wonder if perhaps we need to be a little more "me" focused when it comes to fixing the sin in someone's life. But human nature has this tendency to want to point fingers. Maybe it's our way of making ourselves seem less horrible. We think it's a major sin to commit murder (and it is), but how often do we think about the hate we may have for someone? Isn't that the same as murder in the eyes of God? And what about pointing fingers at an adulterer while we are lusting in our hearts? Doesn't God say to lust is the same as adultery? And what about those sins we seem to sweep under the carpet? You know, the ones like gossip, slander, lying, pride, bitterness, unforgiveness, disobedience to God's word, etc.? "Oh, but everyone does that," you say. Does that make it right? Does it make it any less offensive to God? No, it doesn't. 

It is my thinking that the more horrific we see our own sin, the less judgmental we become towards others. God's hand is not too short to save even the most disgusting sinner we can imagine. It's a hard pill to swallow at times. But without the blood of Jesus, we would all suffer the same consequence as the murderer, the child molester, and any other sinner. Once again I am reminded of that parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector found in Luke 18:9-14:

To some who were confident  of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God I thank you  that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers,-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Recognizing our own sin is essential as we grow and mature in Christ. We can never get so prideful that we think we've got it all together and no longer need to change anything. It should raise a red flag when we start to think we're above being tempted and caught up in sin. So the next time you hear a message and start to think, "I wish ___ was here to hear this," stop yourself and ask God to show you how that message may apply in your own life.