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 %SENSE PROPORTION EVIL SIN PREOCCUPATION INTEGRITY+961124
 %MOTE BEAM EYE SEE CLEARLY COLLUSIVE BLINDNESS SIN+961124
   %BLIND FOOLS LACK VISION BALANCE ADDICT CODEPEND 961124

     Many  people are preoccupied with pointing out  other
people's failures,  lacks, mistakes, evils, sins, etc.  It
would seem that they have 20/20 vision in such regards and
should be admired for their clear vision.

     Jesus,   however,   told some such people  that  they
should  not  be preoccupied with removing specks  of  dust
from other people's eyes until they have removed the beams
of  lumber  from  their own eyes.   Perhaps  there  is  an
important matter of proportion  which  such  people do not
see clearly.  Further, their failures in vision have to do
with being critical of others'  failures, lacks, mistakes,
evils and sins---in the absence of being critical of one's
own failures, lacks, mistakes, evils and sins.

     In  the  example sketched by Jesus it would seem that
the  preoccupied  critics had  alienated  themselves  from
those whom  they  were  ostensibly trying  to help through
criticisms.   There is no hint that the alienation was due
to the  initiatives  of  those who were  being criticized.
There  is a clear hint that the alienation was due to  the
initiatives  of  the hypercritical people who had blinding
beams of lumber in their own eyes.

     In  the  situation  described  by  Jesus  we  may  be
reminded that people's failures,  lacks,  mistakes, evils,
sins, and the like---are engendered by alienations.   Thus
there is the hint that such flaws flow from the  behaviors
of hypercritical people who are preoccupied with directing
attention away from their own flaws.   In fact,  Jesus was
bluntly explicit about  the  need for hypercritical people
to   turn  their  skills  at  pointing  out   flaws   upon
themselves---and then to turn their attention  upon others
only after  they had taken good care of dealing with their
own flaws.

     We  cannot  take good care of others  unless  we  are
already  taking good care of ourselves.   We are making  a
major  mistake and are not helping others when we are  not
taking  good  care  of ourselves---and yet are prematurely
preoccupied  with trying to take care of others.     Jesus
applied  the  term  "fools"   to people who engage in such
behavior; doing so to their face!

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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