Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-5 NASB
Read Matthew 7.
As we continue pondering the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we come next to His admonition concerning judging. This can be a tough concept to understand. There are some who say that Jesus is not forbidding us to judge, but he is merely giving us guidelines. As long as we remove the log from our eyes, it is OK for us to pick at the specks in the eyes of others.
Let’s look at this for a moment. First of all, Jesus is telling us not to judge so we won’t be judged. If we abhor the idea of being condemned or accused, we must be careful not to dish it out. We want people to be understanding of us and to give us the benefit of the doubt, so why not do the same to others?
I see two kinds of judging, and it will help us to differentiate between the two so we can have clarification on Christ’s teaching.
One type of judging involves condemnation, making assumptions, pridefully exalting self, tearing others down, hurting others, jumping to conclusions, and acting like we are some sort of expert on the thoughts and intentions of another person’s heart when only God knows the heart. This type of judging is rarely concerned about the good of the other person. We would be devastated if someone treated us this way, and that is why Jesus warned us to stay away from this kind of behavior or attitude toward others.
On the other hand, another form of judging has a more positive leaning. It is a form of discernment based on evaluating the fruit of another person for the purpose of lovingly and gently restoring a believer who has strayed or to protect the body from a false teacher. This type of judging is always for the good of others and gives the benefit of doubt.
We all make judgments in our lives on a daily basis. What Jesus taught us here is to refrain from judging others in a way we would not want directed toward ourselves. He did not intend for us to twist His words in order to justify our self-righteous attitudes, but rather, Jesus instructed us to focus on our own sin first before even making any kind of attempt to evaluate someone else’s life.
What is so cool about what Jesus taught is that when we truly get rid of that intrusive log in our own eye, that is to face up to our own shortcomings and repent, it is then and only then that we will have the correct posture to help someone else with their speck. However, let’s keep this in perspective. We often fixate on that little speck in someone else’s life when we have a monstrous log of our own that needs attention. Will there ever really be a time when we will be completely rid of that log so that we will be qualified to pick at someone else’s speck?
We are blameless through the blood of Christ, but we will not reach perfection until we receive our glorious resurrected bodies in eternity. Until then, we are all in the same boat, but also on the same team. So, instead of judging each other, let us work to build each other up for the benefit of the Kingdom of God!
You are loved!
