The Stained Window
A young couple had just moved into a new neighborhood. One morning over breakfast, the wife noticed their next-door neighbor outside hanging up her laundry to dry.
“Look at those clothes,” the wife touted disapprovingly. “They’re not very clean at all. That woman clearly doesn’t know how to do laundry properly. She must be using the wrong soap.”
Her husband glanced out the window too but didn’t say anything.
Every time the neighbor would hang her wash out to dry, the young wife would make the same critical comments about its less-than-pristine appearance. “When will she learn how to really get clothes clean?” she’d lament.
Then about a month later, the wife happened to glance out the window at the neighbor’s clothesline again. But this time, she did a double-take. “Well, would you look at that!” she exclaimed to her husband. “Her laundry looks perfect — fresh and bright as can be! I wonder who finally taught her the right way to wash clothes?”
Her husband chuckled. “No one taught her, dear. I simply got up early this morning and cleaned our windows for a change.”
The wife’s cheeks flushed as the truth sank in. Her critical eyes had been looking out through grimy windowpanes, distorting her view of the neighbor’s washing all along.
This little story carries a profound lesson about making judgments. Too often, we look at others’ faults and weaknesses through the streaked and soiled windows of our own imperfections and biases. We jump to negative conclusions colored by our own lack of clarity and understanding.
Before pointing fingers at others’ flaws, perhaps we need to pause and inspect the windows of our own hearts first. Are we seeing situations clearly through the lens of humility, compassion and grace? Or have our perspectives become tainted by pride, unrealistic expectations and a critical spirit?
Jesus warned against this human tendency in the Sermon on the Mount: “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?…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.”
It’s so easy to fall into comparisons and nit-picking over others’ shortcomings when we’ve neglected to address our own areas of growth. As Galatians 6:4 reminds us, “Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.”
Rather than viewing life through smudged windows of judgment, let’s ask God to help us clear away any biases, misconceptions or self-righteousness clouding our vision. With humility and grace, we can then see others — and ourselves — more accurately. And we’ll be better equipped to offer supportive encouragement instead of destructive criticism.
