She says, “Why do you always leave your dishes on the table?”
“Always” might be a bit stronger than actual reality, but the sentiment being powerfully expressed is, “You leave your dirty dishes on the table for me to pick up and carry into the kitchen far too frequently. Quit being so lazy and carry them in yourself.”
He says, “Why do you pile all your stuff on the table, so there’s no room for anything else?” Once again, “all” might be a bit of an exaggeration. What he is trying to say in a critical way is, “There isn’t any room to sit down and eat because of all your craft materials spread out all over the table.”
The parents say, “Son, get off the computer and get some of your work done!” Translation – “You need to get a job. Quit playing games on your computer and look for a job. Fill out some applications and send out some resumes.”
The child says, “Why can’t you see what I do for you?” They mean, that if it wasn’t for them, our computers and cell phones wouldn’t work. That if you paid me my worth for the technical work I do for you, you wouldn’t complain about me not bringing in any income.
Why is it that it is always easier to see the faults of someone else and not our own? We complain about people who stare at their cell phones while out with other people, and then sit in the restaurant doing the same thing. And, don’t forget, that we hate it when someone points out those faults to us, especially when we already know that we shouldn’t be doing it.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-3, “Don’t criticize people, and you will not be criticized. For you will be judged by the way you criticize others, and the measure you give will be the measure you receive. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and fail to notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye’, when there is a plank in your own? You fraud! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you can see clearly enough to remove your brother’s speck of dust.” (JB Phillips).
So, I guess if I am going to take those words seriously, I’m going to have to carry my dirty dishes to the sink and quit criticizing my wife about the crowded table. If I clear the table of my dirty dishes, at least there might be one open space at the table for me to eat.
Seriously though, I need, and so do you, to work at the things in my life that need improvement, and to worry less about the specks in the lives of those around me.
– Just a Thought Dale Fillmore is lead pastor at New Day Church.
