Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Bible in a Year Reading Plan: Ezekiel 1-3 | 2 Timothy 2

Not everything that irritates you is an injustice. Not everything you disagree with is disobedience. Not everything someone does differently from you needs to be corrected. 

That can be a hard truth to swallow. 

Sometimes we are so convinced that someone else is the problem that we never stop to ask whether the problem is actually sin or simply our preference. We mistake discomfort for conviction and difference for wrongdoing. 

Jesus addresses this directly:

Matthew 7:4-5
“How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Jesus isn’t telling us to ignore sin or pretend harmful behavior doesn’t matter. There are times when love requires confrontation, accountability, and boundaries. But before we rush to correct someone else, we’re called to examine ourselves. 

Is this actually harmful, or is it simply different? That question can change the way we approach our relationships. 

Maybe the other person communicates differently than you do. Maybe they organize their life differently. Maybe they make decisions you wouldn’t make. Maybe they handle situations in ways that aren't your preference. But those differences don’t always equate to being sinful, harmful, or destructive. 

The danger comes when we confuse “I wouldn’t do it that way” with “They shouldn’t do it that way.” 

Peacemaking requires discernment. It means asking, is this a biblical issue or a personal preference? Am I addressing something that genuinely needs correction, or trying to make someone more like me?

Not every difference requires a discussion. Not every annoyance requires confrontation. Not every preference needs to become a principle. Sometimes the most Christlike response is to extend grace and let something go. That doesn’t mean ignoring genuine wrongdoing. It means becoming wise enough to recognize when something truly matters and humble enough to recognize when it doesn’t. 

Before correcting someone else, Jesus invites us to examine ourselves. When we do, we may discover that the peace we were trying to create in someone else’s behavior was actually something God wanted to create in our own hearts.

Questions: 
Are you holding someone to a standard God has given or one you have created?

What might God be revealing about your own heart before you address someone else’s behavior?

Next Steps: 
Identify one preference you’ve been treating like a principle.

Practice choosing grace when the issue is simply a difference. 

Ask God for wisdom to know when to speak, when to set a boundary, and when to let something go.

Prayer: 
God, give me the wisdom to know when something is different or truly wrong. Help me resist the temptation to make my preferences into rules for other people. Before I point out someone else’s flaws, give me the humility to examine my own heart. Make me a peacemaker who doesn’t avoid truth but someone who handles truth with wisdom, humility, and love. Remove the log from my own eye so I can see others clearly and love them well. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:
Ephesians 4:15
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 

Written by Heaven Nash, a regular contributor to the Daily Devotional.