1.5-Get your head out the focus on others problems!

1.5-

It happened this morning at about 6am.  I read this:

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,

Who judgement upon you must pass.

The feller whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,

For he's with you clear up to the end,

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,

And think you're a wonderful guy,

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

Dale Wimbrow

 I was reminded to look at myself closely to do a little self-reflection as I begin the new year, 2018.

I have found that the vacation that comes toward the end of the past year and the beginning of the New Year is a reunion of our family.  Time with parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins is a part of what Christmas New Year’s has meant to me.

Normally, on the drive back from DFW to Denver or the flight in later years Sheila and I would reflect on our goals for the New Year.  A part of that is evaluation of what we accomplished compared to what we could have accomplished.

Matthew 7.

7 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and ^[a]by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how ^[b]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

2 Corinthians 13.

⁵ Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you ^[e]fail the test? ⁶ But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves ^[f]do not fail the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may ^[g]appear unapproved. ⁸ For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, ^[h]that you be made complete. ¹⁰ For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

James 1.

²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his ^[x]natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for once he has looked at himself and gone away, ^[y]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

Jesus teaches us to move away from being judgmental of others and to rather look at the log that is in our own eye and work on ourselves.

Lord,

This year help me to refuse to judge others.

To be honest with a look in the mirror and be humble and receive your mercy and grace.

Then move forward motivated by mercy to be all I can be.

Amen.

Larry Wishard

1.5.18