"How Easy To Look Past"
By Zach Wood
Luke 7:39
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet,
he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."
How nice it is to have some things in life that are easy to do. We like easy things, do we not? With all the hard things we deal with day in and day out, we enjoy something that does not take much effort at times. We get worn out and it is nice to have something to do that does not require a lot of effort. There are also some easy things we can do, however, that are not as great for us to do. Sometimes, we easily say things we do not mean. We have all been there, done that. Many of us catch ourselves saying things daily that are not nice.
One of the easiest things for us, as Christians, is that we look at other's faults far more than we look at our own. (Ouch! I think I just hit a nerve!) It seems one of the worst things we can do in our witness for Christ is cast judgment on someone else without first realizing that we, ourselves, need to have an adjustment. This past week, I was reading this Scripture about Jesus being anointed by a sinful woman. I read over it several times and I was touched in a way I had never been before. When I read this passage above that states what the Pharisee said to Jesus about the woman, I immediately felt like I was in his shoes.
There have been countless times when I have pointed my finger at other people and criticized them without having first taken a look at my own life and sin and dealt with that. Now, I am not saying we never have the right to find and address sin in other people's lives. I am not saying that at all. What I want to be clear about is that we find it much easier to look past our own problems and sins and scold others for their sins instead. Kind of like finding the plank in someone's eye without first removing ours.
My heart breaks seeing this woman who has just come into this house and poured perfume on Jesus' feet only to have a Pharisee say that she is a sinner. I can just feel the harsh tone he uses, with disgust, as he casts this horrible, verbal judgment on her. We have a lot to learn from this scenario. As Jesus showed love toward her, we also need to show love toward others and not immediately cast our stones at them for their sins. We need to love the people and hate the sin. Many times easier said than done. The world needs to see us opening our arms of love and acceptance instead of finger pointing and casting stones. God is Love. We need to model that. The world desperately needs to see it.
