06/03/2026
MAYBE THAT’S THE REASON WHY
THINGS ARE LIKE THEY ARE
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).
The group Tower of Power once recorded a powerful song called “Can’t Stand to See the Slaughter.” In it, the singer laments the injustice, greed, and hypocrisy in the world—the violence and corruption that people seem content to ignore. The chorus says,
I can’t stand to see the slaughter but still I eat the meat,
I can’t stand dishonest people but still sometimes I cheat.
I can’t stand air pollution but still I drive a car.
Maybe that’s the reason why things are like they are.
That last line is very haunting: “Maybe that’s the reason why things are like they are.” It hits hard. It’s a confession that the world’s brokenness isn’t just “out there.” It’s also inside of us. We shake our heads at the moral decay, political division, and social corruption around us—but Jesus reminds us that hypocrisy begins in the heart.
When we point out the faults of others while refusing to deal with our own, we become part of the very problem we condemn. We can’t clean up society if we won’t let God clean up our souls. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:3, we’re quick to see the speck in someone else’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own.
The song’s message and the Savior’s words line up: we can’t claim to be against the “slaughter”—the injustice, sin, or corruption of the world—if we’re secretly feeding it through pride, hypocrisy, or apathy. Maybe that’s why things are like they are: because too many of us talk about change without being changed.
Let us go to the Throne of Grace,
Lord, help me to stop pointing fingers and start looking in the mirror. Forgive me for the times I’ve condemned others while ignoring my own faults. Purify my heart so that my life reflects Your truth, not hypocrisy. Use me to be part of the solution—not part of the reason why things are like they are.
Dr. William R. Glaze