First Things First

Rabbi Israel Salanter said, "A person should first put one's house together, then one's town, then the world." What does it take to, "Put one's house together"? According to Sacred Intentions, "Kind words, unconditional love, nurturing guidance" will be a good start. Yeshua said, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 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?" (NIV) There is priority established before you begin to correct the behavior of others. That priority begins with a mirror. You need to examine your own life before you criticize others. Moreover, if one claims to be a follower of Yeshua one should desire this type of self examination. We should seek to obey His words to the fullest extent possible.

It seems that in the "church" today, we see a number of people that want to provide "words from the LORD." They want to remove specks from people's eyes. They want to be what I call "pretend prophets." Abraham Heschel said: "The words of a prophet are stern, sour, stinging. But behind his austerity is love and compassion for mankind...." The man or woman who has gone through the process of removing the planks from their lives will develop love and compassion for others. Whether it is a word of prophecy that involves correction or encouragement, it needs to come from the lips of one who has been broken through the process of self examination under the search light of YHWH.

This is a path necessary for usage in the kingdom. While it may not be an enjoyable process in the natural, it is a joy to be molded into the image of Yeshua. Sometimes being molded will require some cutting away and reshaping. However, know that as it is occurring the end product will reflect the image of the Master.