“You have heard…” (Matthew 5:21a NASB)
We have all heard the saying, “That’s like the pot calling the kettle black.” Wikipedia explains this saying as follows. “The pot calling the kettle black” is a proverbial idiom that may be of Spanish origin, of which English versions began to appear in the first half of the 17th century. It means to be used by a person who is guilty of the very thing of which he accuses another and is thus an example of psychological projection, or hypocrisy.”
While most of us have used this saying before as we deemed it appropriate. We don’t have to look it up. We can quote it perfectly without hesitation. But listen, friend. There is a better saying than this 17th century saying, one that we should be able to also quote verbatim and quickly as deemed fitting and this better saying originated many centuries before it appeared in Thomas Shelton‘s 1620 translation of the Spanish novel Don Quixote. This better is saying is found in Jesus’ discourse on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Perhaps we should really look at this saying since everything that Jesus says is profound.
Furthermore, instead of using it just to address someone else’s tendency to criticize someone else for the same things that they do, since we are probably more guilty of doing the exact same thing, we should also use it as a tool for minimizing our hypocritical criticisms. Just maybe that will help us focus on being better personally and more Christ like individually.
Here is the saying that is better than the pot and the kettle saying, found in Matthew 7:3-5: “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? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is 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!”
He that has ears to hear, let him hear, hear to the point where the saying is taken to heart, and it produces the proper reaction. Have a great Wednesday! Be blessed!
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NASB)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King