God's Gospel Truths
Matthew 4:12-17
Judging Others
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “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? 4 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? 5 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.
Pondering Point
Reading this part of the Bible lets us see there’s a way to help people without being judgmental. Jesus infers that a person CAN notice a speck of sawdust in another person’s eye – and be helpful about it – without being judgmental as to why the speck is there. He describes it as removing the log from your own eye. To be clear, Jesus is not saying, “ignore the sawdust” (i.e, act like you didn't notice). For instance, person A notices the speck in the eye of person B. Here’s the plan:
- Step 1. Person A removes LOG from person A’s eye.
- Step 2. Person A acknowledges SPECK from person B’s eye.
- Step 3. Person B may (or may not) let Person A help.
It stands to reason that both God and person B would want the "sawdust in the eye" removed. But most people don’t want others in their eyes! Maybe you are the one to help remove the speck, but not in a judgy state. Some bible teachers think the sin of judgment IS the log Jesus describes. If you can’t stop judging inappropriately, you’re not positioned to start helping others. God help us!
Prayer for the Day
Father God, in all seriousness, help us to be free of judgment before we offer to assist others with their issues. Help us flush our own eyes of logs prior to addressing others’ eyes and their specks. We really could use Your help here — all of us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.