Wooden Beam

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 is one of the best warnings offered by Jesus to his disciples and now to us.  It is graphic and gets his “sharp” point across to us with few words.  Hypocrisy!  Most of us have wooden beams in our eyes, yet we notice splinters in other peoples’ eyes. We do little self-reflection.  It’s them, not us.  

We judge other people and hammer down our gavels with a sentence of “Guilty!”  We innocents play the role of those sitting behind the bench and judging from on high.  Hypocrisy seals our fate even though we are unaware of our affront to Jesus.  

In a bit of tragic irony, Jesus was placed on a wooden beam, and there he hung to suffer.  We hypocrites should beware of wooden beams not only found in our eyes, but out there somewhere waiting for us to be nailed to our cross, a fate hypocrites should always fear.

Deacon David Pierce