DO not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And 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.
Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest
they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. -(Matthew 7:1-6)
Many people today are just plain miserable. And plenty of these miserable people are
also extremely critical. I am not sure that they are critical because they are miserable
or miserable because they are critical. Whatever the case, we often find ourselves around
critical people.
I don't like critical people. I'm not sure that anyone does. They are much like
complainers. You just don't like to be around someone who is always critical and
complaining.
One writer quoted a medical survey concerning chronic complainers. Amazingly, the
survey indicated that these chronic complainers seemed to live longer than people who are
always sweet and serene. The survey claimed that their cantankerous spirit gives them a
purpose for living. Each morning they get up with a fresh challenge to see how many things
they can find to grumble about, and they derive great satisfaction from making other
people miserable.
The writer questioned the conclusions of the medical survey. He surmised that chronic
complainers really don't outlive others, rather it just seems that way to everybody around
them. Indeed, it does seem that way.
All of us have known people who were complainers and full of criticism. They had
adopted a negative outlook on life. This critical spirit expressed itself in many ways.
They were always fault finding, putting other people down, and judging others. They were
negative and looked at everything in a negative way.
If we are honest, we have to admit that we do not want to be around people like that,
even though we are sometimes tempted to act like that ourselves. So, when Jesus addressed
this issue in the Sermon on the Mount, He was dealing with something that every person
must confront. We must confront it in others, and we must confront it in ourselves as
well. Having a negative, critical, judgmental attitude is everywhere - even in us.
As we will see, Jesus' teaching is simple and straightforward. He tells us that we must
first stop being judgmental. Then He tells us that rather than being judgmental concerning
others, we must look to ourselves and evaluate our own lives.
Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; And
by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. (7:1-2)
Many people have misunderstood Jesus admonition concerning judging. When Jesus says
that we are not to judge, many people have interpreted that to mean that we
are not to engage in any form of analysis or evaluation of others. In other words, this
line of thinking says that we cannot conclude that a person's behavior or lifestyle is
wrong, and that they are consequently wrong for engaging in it. Those who
would like to justify all manner of evil use this commandment of our Lord to chasten
anyone who would take a stand for righteousness.
We live in such an age. For many years there has been an emphasis on tolerance and
acceptance. Now, there is nothing wrong with tolerance and acceptance. They are indeed
good qualities. But what many mean by them is that we should accept any lifestyle, any
act, without careful, critical evaluation. We see this type of thinking reach its pinnacle
in the idea of politically correct (PC) speech. Is this what Jesus is talking about?
No. This is a misunderstanding of what Jesus was speaking to. We know this because of
what the Scriptures say in so many other places. In fact, in the sixth verse of this
chapter, Jesus calls us to evaluate the kind of people with whom we are dealing as we seek
to share the Gospel. He talks of not giving what is holy to dogs, and of not
throwing your pearls before swine. Clearly we have to evaluate the kind of people
with whom we are dealing to fulfill Jesus' command.
Later, in this same chapter, Jesus says, "Beware of the false prophets, who
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by
their fruits."(15-16) Obviously, we must engage in a fruit evaluation if we
are going to determine who is a true or false prophet. So, we are called upon to make a
judgment about individuals and behaviors. Many other passages also indicate this.
But if Jesus was not talking about refraining from any form of judgment, what was He
talking about? I think it is clear that Jesus was saying that we should not allow
ourselves to develop and maintain a critical, judgmental spirit. He was talking about our
attitude toward others. He was talking about our tendency to condemn others and to be
judgmental and self-righteous.
We all have a tendency to be judgmental at times. Perhaps this is because we feel that
to put others down is to lift ourselves up. It has been said that people tend to judge in
others the very things that are wrong in themselves. So, perhaps we are seeking to hide
our own inadequacies by pointing out the inadequacies of others. One thing is clear. Being
judgmental is a serious problem - one that all of us must face.
But apart from the reality that none of us likes to be judged and none of us likes to
be around judgmental people, there is another and more serious problem with being
judgmental. Jesus warns us that those of us who engage in that activity will be judged
ourselves. You see, judging others has consequences.
To engage in the reckless judgmental attitudes that Jesus condemns means that we set
ourselves up as God. We must remember that God is the ultimate judge of all things. We
seldom have all the facts. We seldom can look into any situation and really see it for
what it is. We certainly cannot look into someone's heart. Only God can do these things.
Therefore, only God is qualified to judge. We can evaluate certain things. And we should.
But we must always remember that our evaluation is unreliable. Therefore, we must never
engage in the kind of absolute criticism and condemnation that so many people do. When we
do, we set ourselves up as God. And Jesus says that you will be judged.
And Jesus tells us how we will be judged. The way you judge will become the way you
will be judged. In other words, we will get back what we give out. The standard
that we hold others to will become the standard by which we are judged. What standard are
you holding others to? Can you live up to that standard? Be careful before you answer
that. In fact, perhaps you should not be the one to answer that question at all. Ask
someone who knows you to be honest with you about whether you can meet the standard. You
see, sometimes we tend to be blind to our failures and inconsistencies. That is why Jesus
warns us about having a judgmental spirit.
So, the message of Jesus is clear that we are to stop being judgmental. He commands us
to eliminate a critical attitude from the way we deal with others. In fact, He is telling
us not to focus on others at all. Rather, we should focus on ourselves.
Evaluate Your Own Life
And 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? (7:3-4)
Rather than looking to others with a critical eye and judging them, we should rather
look to ourselves and judge ourselves. Jesus calls us to evaluate our own lives before we
even attempt to help others evaluate their lives. Only by evaluating ourselves will we be
able to resist the temptation to evaluate others.
Illustration Jesus gives us is an extremely humorous one. It is of a person trying to
take a splinter out of someone else's eye when he has a log sticking out of his own.
Picture, if you will, a person with a beam of wood approximately six feet in length
protruding from his eye. As he turns his head from side to side this beam of wood flattens
people left and right. How is that sort of person ever going to be able to even see a
splinter in someone else's eye? As they tried to approach the other person, the log
sticking out of their own eye would knock the other person over. It is obviously
ridiculous that someone in that condition should criticize someone else for having a
splinter. This is the picture Jesus paints.
Obviously, what He is saying is that we should first look to ourselves. Evaluate your
own life. Look at your own faults. Examine your own sins. Be honest with yourself about
your own condition. Deal with you first.
So many of us need to look at our own hearts. Often, we live under an illusion that our
hearts are right and pure when they are not. Until we see our own heart, it will be easy
to judge others.
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. (7:5)
Jesus tells us that unless we are willing to deal with our own situation, we are
nothing but a hypocrite. If you really want to help others, the first thing
you must do is to take the log out of your own eye. Only if you do this can you then
be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
This is an extremely important principle. By obeying this principle, we will be able to
avoid the critical, judgmental attitude that causes us to condemn others. You see, when we
truly see ourselves, we are less tempted to desire to judge anyone else. When we truly see
ourselves, we become aware that we need mercy, not judgment. If we were judged, even
fairly, then we would be condemned. Therefore, we should treat others as we would want to
be treated ourselves.
Do you want others to give you the benefit of the doubt? Then give it to them. Do you
want others to think well of you, even when they do not understand you? Then do the same
for them. Do you want others to criticize you or encourage you? If you want encouragement
rather then criticism, try to be an encourager yourself.
Jesus calls us to love one another, to seek the highest good for one another, and to
build up one another. Judgmental attitudes tear others down. A critical spirit discourages
others. This is why Jesus deals with this kind of attitude. This kind of attitude has no
place in the church. It has no place in the life of a Christian.
If you find this attitude in yourself, ask God to give you the ability to take a good
long look at you. Ask Him to show you your heart and your hang-ups. Ask Him to enable you
to pull the log out of your own eye first.
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