Worry About Yourself!

There is a video that was posted to YouTube of a little girl trying to unbuckle her car seat as her dad films her. When he asks what he can do to help her, she repeatedly tells him "Worry about yourself!" You can watch the video here. The video has been viewed over 8.2 million times since March 2013. The phrase used by this little girl has become something of a mantra or joking catchphrase around our house, and mostly because of my wife. This phrase is the answer to almost any question with the words "why" or "what are you doing" in it. It's all been in good fun. Ironically, this has been one of those ways that my wife has brought her work home with her. Her use of this phrase started when she started telling her co-workers this phrase. Now, the boys and I are constantly being reminded to worry about ourselves. Not to be outdone we repeat the phrase back at her like a bunch of mocking 3 year old kids, myself included!

The phrase this little girl uses is rather sound theology when you think about it. She is basically paraphrasing Jesus when she (or my wife) says "Worry about yourself!" Jesus says in Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV), "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? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." This is sound theology from the mouth of God when it comes to how we ought to deal with others who are falling into sin and the sin in our own life.

Usually these verses are used by people seeking to avoid being judged by others. If someone's sin is pointed out, then the one pointing it out is called hypocritical and told to "Get the plank out" of their own eye. They're basically told "Worry about yourself!" They are right. We shouldn't judge others for their sins (Matthew 7:2). And yes we're all hypocrites at one time or another, regardless of how much we try not to be. But the fact of the matter is, Jesus doesn't say "Don't try to help your brother or sister who is struggling with sin." What Jesus does say is that we ought to make sure our own house is in order before helping someone else with theirs. It is hypocritical for a person struggling with their own sin to call someone else out on their sin. But it isn't hypocritical or judgmental, for one who has sought forgiveness and is seeking God's help with sin, to seek to help someone struggling with sin. If we had to wait until we were sinless to help struggling believers, then we couldn't do it on this side of eternity. Notice what Jesus said in verse 5 where He says, "first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." We need to first deal with our own sin and then seek to loving rebuke and correct fellow believers who are stuck in sin (James 5:19-20; 1 John 5:16). We don't avoid helping others, we simply make sure we don't have anything holding us back before we try to help them.

My dose of encouragement for you today is this. If you know of someone who is struggling with some sin in their life and you want to help them, follow these steps:
1. First deal with your own sin by repenting and seeking God's forgiveness.
2. Pray for them. Don't jump the gun and think you know what they need.
3. Ask God to use you to minister to the one struggling. Ask for them to see your actions as a help and not a hindrance.
4. Be prepared. They will probably view your help as you being nosy, judgmental, and hypocritical. So be prepared.
5. Don't give up. When a believer is struggling with sin, we need to pray for them and try to help them.


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