Have you ever known someone who was so negative they seemed to suck the oxygen right out of a room when they entered it? I have encountered a couple of people like that; always looking for something to criticize or complain about. They seem to take pride in taking the wind out of someone’s sails or raining on their parade. They claim that they are just being brutally honest, but there is nothing constructive about their criticism. I think they are miserable and want to share their misery with everyone around them. It is easy to see and identify problems. They are all around us, and sometimes even within us. The real question is, what do we do about them?
In one of His most familiar teachings Jesus tells us, “How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First getridoftheloginyourowneye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” There is a very important underlying principle in the example Jesus gives us that we need to consider. It isn’t just that our own problem can get in the way of helping another person solve theirs. When we have solved a similar problem in our own life we are much better equipped to help someone else. The best advice I have every received in my life came from a person who had overcome a similar problem or climbed that same mountain.
Sometimes our first reaction when we see a problem is to find fault. I have written before about the “blame game” when we blame someone else for our problem. Some people seem prone to assign blame on others, but there are some who are actually much harder on themselves. I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life I have looked for someone else to blame and other times I have been very hard on myself. The fact is that assigning blame to anyone for a problem does not help solve it. Henry Ford once said, “Don’t find fault; find a remedy.” That is easier said than done. Solving a problem often requires long thought and hard work. It is so much easier to identify a problem or even assign blame for it.
As Christians, we need to face every problem head on and solve it with God’s help. When it seems to have no solution; that is when we completely put it in God’s hands without worrying about fault or guilt. There is no better solution than that decision to give it to God. Once we have dealt with all of our problems, we can reach out with love to help others overcome theirs. Victories, testimonies and blessings are all meant to be shared with others; but we can’t share something we don’t possess.