Things break or quit working at the worst times. I jumped in my pickup to go to a meeting, and it wouldn’t start because the battery was dead. I jumped it with another car and got where I needed to go. After that, it happened half a dozen times, so I got a new battery. I thought that would solve my problem, but it happened again this morning, so now I have to figure out if it is my alternator, starter, or a demon in my pickup. I have a favorite mechanic, and it is his job to figure out and fix the problem.

Our bodies are like cars; things break down and quit working. I went to the dentist this last week because two of my teeth were broken and needed fixing. I am going back tomorrow to finish the job. I had a bit of a problem with the temporary crown they put on. It was too tall, and the two incisor teeth I bite fishing line in two with wouldn’t quite touch. That is a significant problem! Now I will have to use a pocket knife like everybody else! My fix job on my teeth is minor compared to many others I hear about. People get new valves in their hearts; sometimes, they get a new heart. We all have doctors we hope can figure out and fix our problems.

Jesus talked about people who had bad hearts that needed fixing. Obviously He was talking about our spiritual heart, not our blood pump. He can fix our hearts, but He expects that we will figure out what is wrong. Self-examination is an essential part of our spiritual growth. The problem is that many people are blind to their own character flaws and sin problems. There are several reasons and causes of spiritual blindness, but probably the worst is our critical spirit and judgmental attitude toward others. The fundamental law is that the more we judge others, the more blind we become to our own faults, and we then develop major blind spots.