Looking to Ourselves for Change

As I was driving down the road the other day, I passed a church that had an interesting statement on their marquee. I can't remember what it said exactly, or even the name of the church in which I saw it. But the implication of the comment has stuck with me and caused me to think.

It said something like... Change in me what I see in others that I think needs to be changed.
It's one of those statements you have to read over and over a few times to really let it sink in. I started thinking about the times I see someone doing something and think they shouldn't be doing it, or they shouldn't be acting that way, or why on earth would you do something like that.

How many times do we say things like that. It's so easy to see in others the changes we think they need to make in themselves. Maybe it's so easy to see those things, because God is trying to show us those are things we need to change about ourselves. We are so blind or maybe so arrogant that we don't seem to be able to see as easily the things we need to change in our own lives or with the way we act in certain situations. I bet if we really stepped back and looked at ourselves, we would see lots of things we need to change.

What if, every time we wanted to make a comment about something in someone else we thought they needed to change, we just didn't. And we took that thought and applied it to ourselves and our own lives. Do you think we would begin to see that there are lots of things in our own lives we need to be working on? That there really isn't time for us to worry about the things everyone else needs to change if we focus those thoughts inwardly and apply them to ourselves? My grandmother had a saying, "You need to clean out from under your own doorstep before you start worrying about someone else's." And I imagine that if we started looking inwardly first, and things started to change in us, we would see far less wrong with those around us.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with
the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy
complete by being like-minded, having the same love,
being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better
than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your
own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-4

Blessings! And have a great week!!