Self-Deceived

their sin makes me angry,
vindictive, self-righteous.
"don't you realize you are deceiving yourself?"
but inside, there issues forth
a gentle pause:
"what if you're angry, because in their sin
you see mirrored, yours?"

i don't like that gentle reminder.
because at heart, it gently rings true.
"i am self-deceived in that way too."
i deny, i reject, i protect,
and i convince myself that
it is not so.
have mercy on me, dear Lord.

let truth shine forth-- what is dark
illumined.
i too am self-deceived:
i seek to remove the speck,
ignoring my own plank swinging still.

show me. teach me. mold me.
let truth reign, even there.
deception fall away,
truth spoken, heard, felt, even there...
for the truth will set us free,
and it is for freedom that we believe.

come sister, brother, let us go together
closer to the heart of God.