THERE'S A PLANK IN YOUR EYE

1 Timothy 3:2

For an elder must be a man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exhibit self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be able to teach.

In the past, I’ve received furious complaints from parents about their newly saved teenagers. Generally, these parents felt that their children had become disobedient after they had become part of a church. By default, the church family became the target of blame for their child’s new “disobedience.” At first, I would become angry about these types of complaints. But after thinking it through, I would begin to feel pity for these parents. You see, whatever these people had come to believe about their child’s behavior was just something that their kids had probably learned from their parents. I've found that the real problem is more likely that parents are just not walking their talk. Jesus asked us in Matthew 7:3, "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?” A parent's life must be filled with integrity for one to successfully teach children. If a reputation of integrity doesn't exist, you can expect failure and that failure is a reflection of the poor spirit of the teacher.