The log and the speck

(David) said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he had no pity."
2 Samuel 11:5b-6

The Veggie Tales animated series has a great retelling of the story of David and Bathsheba called "King George and the Duckie." It is sharp and witty. King George has hundreds of beautiful rubber ducks, but he wants Jr's duck. And he will have Jr's duck, even if it means sending the kid to the front of the Great Pie War and leaving him there. The King's covetousness and greed is there for all the world to see. But like David, he can't see it. King George can only see his desire and his sense of entitlement. He sings "Don't ask me to explain; there will be pain, if you don't bring me back that duck!"

Reading the end of 2 Samuel, I am amazed at the power of King David's response to Nathan's parable. His anger is swift. His judgement sure: anyone who behaves so cruelly deserves to die! David sees so clearly the ugliness of Nathan's rich man, because it is so obvious. David's own sinfulness is just as obvious, but he cannot see it.

I think everyone (especially people of faith) has a blind spot like David's. It is so much easier to spot the flaws in others. Especially when they are so obvious! And while we are so busy noticing the faults of others, we persist in overlooking our own.

Jesus asks us: Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend let me take out the speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? Luke 6:41-42

The short answer: it is easier. It is easier to stand back with smug self-righteousness than to repent and work for reconciliation. It is much easier to judge another's sin than to come to grips with our own.

But David does it. He sees his fault. He recognizes that himself deserves the judgment he called down on another.

King George manages to do it as well. In his case, he was able to return the stolen duckie to its rightful owner and avoid some of David's unpleasantness.

What a great thing it would be if we were all more concerned with removing the logs from our own eyes. God knows we're not perfect or even close to it. What a great thing it would be, if we stopped telling ourselves that we(and we alone)were.