Step 1: Take the plank out of your own eye

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Matthew 7:3-5

I finished reading Red Letter Revolution by Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne a few days ago (and it was awesome and I highly recommend it). The term "red letter" is referring to those Bibles that print Jesus' (alleged) words in red. The cover of this book says "what if Jesus really meant what he said?", which is eerily similar to that Gandhi quote I blogged about here. Anyway, this advice about the plank in the eye popped into my head today, and I thought, "this is one of my favourite red letter quotes".

What's yours?

Shane Claiborne on Politics

"Governments can do lots of things, but there are a lot of things they cannot do. A government can pass good laws, but no law can change a human heart. Only God can do that. A government can provide good housing, but folks can have a house without having a home. We can keep people breathing with good health care, but they still may not really be alive. The work of community, love, reconciliation, restoration is the work we cannot leave up to politicians. This is the work we are all called to do."

                                       Shane Claiborne in The Red Letter Revolution