One of the most commonly used colloquial sayings we have in American culture is, "Don't shoot yourself in the foot." The thrust of this pearl of great wisdom is simply this: Avoid doing that which is only going to hurt yourself.
One of the most frequently viewed videos on YouTube.com shows a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent speaking to a crowd of teenagers and adults about the dangers of drugs and guns -- a noble effort to be sure. As the agent brings out a handgun which he says is unloaded, he assures them he is the only one in the room "professional enough" to handle such a weapon (scroll down to watch the video).
You can probably see where this is going. Almost as soon as those words had left his lips, the gun discharged (yeah, it was loaded after all). The stunned (and probably deafened) crowd began to stir in confusion and alarm. The agent began to limp, suggesting he had shot himself in the foot.
A painful way to get the message across.
As he continued to lecture, the agent asked for an assistant to hand him an assault rifle he had brought along. The prospect of this man handling an automatic weapon in a room full of parents and their children sent the crowd into a mild frenzy. You see, although the motives and message of this DEA agent were commendable, his own lack of care in the very matters on which he lectured destroyed his credibility with that group.
Jesus said...
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 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.
Matthew 7:1-5, ESV
How effective will our efforts to win the souls of men be if our own soul lies in peril? Before we can effectively be about the work of helping others to see the urgent need of salvation, you and I must concern ourselves with the task of purifying our own minds through submission to the will of God.
To do otherwise would just be shooting ourselves in the feet!
r2
