"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 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? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a 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." -Jesus (Matthew 7:1-5)
Can the Christian not make judgments? Certainly! This is without a doubt one of the most tortured verses in the Bible. It is pulled out by everyone at one time or another to try to put someone in their place (so to speak). "That is wrong!"... "Do not judge!" "They are a bad person."... "Do not judge." You know what I am talking about. Is that the point of this part of the Sermon? Is Jesus really telling His disciples that they are not to make judgments? Certainly not!
Ok, so what is it about? In context, Jesus is dealing with how we treat one another as His followers. He says we are to be lavishly generous with each other and remember that each of us will be judged by the same measure as we use to judge others. That should slow down the desire to decide who is in and who is out. If we are nitpickers towards others, Jesus says get ready for the same treatment. This statement puts me in mind of the Lord's Prayer... "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors".
Once again, Jesus is telling us that it is a heart matter. If we are judgmental towards His people, our hearts are messed up. He reminds us that we have our own faults. We have our own misunderstandings. We have our own sins! He says, "work on yourself, when you get that all taken care of, then you can turn that critical eye on someone else". Doing otherwise is hypocritical. (and none of use want to be like that) The picture here is of someone who fails to see their own faults (the plank), but is focused on the little things in someone else's life. (the speck)
Let's be frank here... I have done that. You have too. It is so much easier to critique others than it is to examine our own lives. Many times the thing that drives us crazy about someone else is the very thing we struggle with ourselves. Jesus doesn't say that we are not to make righteous judgments, rather He calls on us to be patient and gentle with others and to focus on our own issues. It's about humility. It's recognizing that we all live imperfectly, but with the love and support of our brothers and sisters, we can do so in a perfecting way.
I am thankful for a generous God, who gave His Son so that penalty for the plank and the speck are all paid for. Should I do my best to live perfectly? Sure. It honors Him. Am I going to do it? No! We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Love. Support. Encouragement. Acceptance. That is to be the trademark of His people! Leave the judging to the Judge. Surround yourself with people who's hearts are tuned to His heart.
Young ladies, find a young man that has the desire to help you grow closer to God. Young man, search for a young lady that wants to help you be a true man of God. Christian men and women... treat each other with lavish generosity. Be with people that make you a better person, a better Christian. Work on your life and then lovingly, with great care and gentleness help remove the speck from that person you love. That's what He calls on us to do. That is what He did.
Wise or foolish?
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