Hypocrites And Beams

Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then  you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)

This passage is short and to the point: don’t be hypocrites!  This was one of Jesus’ major concerns.  We must not judge others.  Granted that it’s very hard not to judge especially when we see evil and speak out against it.  After all, we are all capable of evil to one degree or another. 

Jesus offers us sound advice for self-correction.  Before we judge, let’s make sure our eyes are beamless.  Our brothers’ splinters can be removed, but our wooden beams blind us to our own hypocrisy. 

If not careful, our judgments and misjudgments will place us on wooden beams.  Just ask Jesus: not such a great place to be.

Deacon David Pierce