I don’t always clean the inside of my windows first.

One of the things I love about our home is all of the large windows. They let tons of natural light in and offer a glorious view of green grass and tall trees.

The downside of all this glass is that the windows get dirty and need periodic cleaning.

One day, I was sitting in my sunroom, reading and glancing out at the view, when I thought to myself, “My husband really needs to get outside and clean these windows.”

I’m sure you’ve said something similar to yourself, certain that the problem was clearly someone else’s fault.

But, as I peered through the sunroom window, I realized the smudges and smears were actually on the inside of the glass. Huh, I was perplexed.

We each have our responsibilities that every husband and wife works out in the course of their marriage. And of course, there’s a lot of give-and-take and compromise along the way. No one is keeping tabs, but generally, my husband handles the outside work, and I take care of most of the inside duties, and this method of operation has worked for us for the 33 years we’ve been married.

I gazed at the blurry glass and thought…I guess that’s my territory, not his.

I got up, grabbed the Windex and some paper towels, and cleaned up the dirty window. But I couldn’t help but think of Jesus speaking to the religious leaders, “Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean.” Matthew 23:26.

I had to laugh. I love how the Holy Spirit uses everyday experiences to show us our prideful hearts. I was so certain that my husband was neglecting his household responsibilities that I failed to see how dirty my own cup and dish were.

Clearly, this isn’t just a spiritual lesson but a relational one, too.

We love to point the finger, elbow our mate, make the snide comment, all the while the Lord is saying, “Take the plank out of your own eye, friend.”

We can learn so much from those Pharisees that Jesus called hypocrites. He goes on to compare them to whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but are full of dead bones and everything unclean inside. (Matthew 23:27)

Kind of like my windows. I bet standing on the outside, they were beautiful. However, there were smudgy fingerprints and dirty streaks on the inside I wasn’t aware of and in a moment of smug self-righteousness, I was certain my husband wasn’t doing things right.

I was reminded that my heart often deceives me. (Jeremiah 17:9). It leads me to believe I’m doing just fine operating in squeaky-clean mode, when in reality I need to power scrub my insides.

I wonder how many marriages could benefit if we just took a good, hard look at ourselves before pointing the finger at our spouses.

I bet our workplaces would gain higher ground if we were willing to do our part and go the extra mile, rather than assume it was someone else’s job.

What if we out-served one another and took on one of their tasks instead of waiting for them to do the dirty work?

What if we asked the Lord to show us where we need to clean up our act?

Maybe we should make every effort to avoid Pharisee-like hypocrisy, humble ourselves, and acknowledge that true transformation is an internal job.

Let’s get out of our chairs and clean the inside of the windows first.