Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Friday, September 23, 2011

"Jesus said, '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?'"¹

A rather humorous thing happened to me recently. I received an email from a somewhat irate subscriber informing me that he wanted me to stop sending him duplicate copies of Daily Encounter. The interesting thing was that I received a duplicate copy of his message to me! I wonder whose computer had the glitch.

Criticism is par for the course in the work I do. Constructive criticism I appreciate. If it's fair, I consider it, thank the sender, and often make changes accordingly.

It's amazing how many subscribers blame me because they can't get Daily Encounter or get angry at me because they can't unsubscribe. Most of the time, however (not always), it's because of a spam blocker with their server or computer that blocks their receiving Daily Encounter. Or when they can't unsubscribe, it's often because they are trying to unsubscribe the wrong email address. I always politely explain the cause of the problem, but rarely—if ever—do any of these subscribers apologize for blaming me for their problem.

On one occasion I got cursed out by an angry "subscriber" calling me among other things an "expletive deleted" blithering idiot for subscribing him. Interestingly enough I recognized the email address. It was that of a friend of this complainer who subscribed using his office email address and someone else opened the email. I couldn't resist telling this man that the person whom he was calling a "blithering idiot" who subscribed this address was one of his workmates.

It sure is easy to project the blame for our mistakes onto someone else. I've been guilty of doing the same thing myself. I try not to do this, but when I do, I always apologize when I realize it is my error. By way of interest, angry people are notorious for projecting the blame onto the people around them for the problems they themselves have caused.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to see when I am in the wrong and be quick to admit it, and apologize for it when I blame someone else for it. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Matthew 7:3-4 (NIV).

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