Chaos of the headlines floods our socia media feeds. The groaning of an unhappy person may flood our personal conversations. Even our precious little ones suffer the condition. There always seems to be something wrong with someone else. But is this the way to heal our hearts. Is viewing others problems as bigger than our own healthy? NO. 

Jesus makes it clear that we must inspect our own eye before we go picking out our neighbors. There is a personal inspection that is needed on a daily, moment by moment basis. Matthew 7:3-5. But there is something so ingrained in us that we are quick to blame to look to others instead of ourselves. It started from the beginning. In the garden of Eden, Adam blamed Eve, who blamed the serpent. So step one is to realize you are the problem. You are the only one you can change. You can’t change your friend, spouse, parent, child, co-worker, pastor, teacher, president, or leader. 

We each have a specific path that Christ asked us to walk. Matthew 5:43-48 puts a path of light into our lives, even in the darkest moments. Even when it would seem that we have been totally wronged or it is clearly someone else’s fault. Jesus asked us to love. To love our enemies and pray for them. Love is the insanely crazy equalizer. Love begs us to do things that seem unreasonable. To love rightly, is to stare Jesus in the eyes and be amazed that he has loved you. To be awestruck that even though He sees all you think and do, HE.LOVES.YOU! 

So in response to His love, when it seems that chaos is all around, or its clearly someone else’s fault. Ask yourself, have I loved as He loved me? All of a sudden, you will see it’s your fault too. Maybe you saw the chaos of the world, but did you fix your eyes on Jesus. Maybe your friend is right, the spouse is a jerk. But did you pray with them to love anyway. Maybe the kids won’t stop the racket and noise. But did you turn to your peace that passes all understanding. 

As Christians, it seems that it has become acceptable to blame the world and others. But have we loved the world as He has? Have we laid our lives down? Have gone, sold and given all we have to follow him? Have we blessed those who curse us. Imagine a world of Christians that stopped blaming and started changing. Changing by the power of God to be like Christ.