What kind of advice is that?!Ever since being children we’ve been told, “Don’t take it personally!”—no matter what ‘it’ is. No doubt, this is advice that serves us well most of the time. But depending upon the context, the opposite of such sage counsel might be just as helpful—or even more so.
Never mind who said or did it!
If we are willing to engage in a little self-reflection upon something painful that someone has said or done to us—something that we would normally “take personally” [read: “be offended by”]—we may gain surprisingly deep awareness into ourselves and our modus operandi. Doing so offers us much more than just insight. It can stimulate our own emotional health and well-being and even promote personal transformation.
The biggest stumbling block to accomplishing this is our ego.
This is the gist of what Jesus was talking about in his Sermon on the Mount when he discourages us from focusing on the speck we’re so quick to see in someone else’s eye while overlooking the log in our own. Utilizing unusually abrupt language, he drives home a point that actually has the power to positively transform us—and our relationships—if we will apply it.
But…
It’s a point that you and I won’t even “get” unless we’re willing to take it personally.
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.” (Mt 7:5 NRSV)
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