Logs and Specks

Driving home from work last week, I got on the phone with my husband and decided to pull over into a bus stop and take the call. Once I was done, I turned on my traffic indicator and watched for oncoming vehicles to drive by so that I could get back onto the main road.

I had an approaching car in my sights and knew that as soon as it had driven by, the road would be clear for me to move into the outer lane. However, just as I was about to make my move onto the road, I saw another vehicle coming at top speed with no lights on. It was past six o’clock and other cars had their headlights on.  Alone in the car I muttered under my breath; “waa hw3, no lights, how can you drive like that?”

I continued my journey home; cruising along with some good music and fell into slow-moving traffic.  I was meandering my way across lanes when suddenly, I realized that I had not switched on my lights!  I felt mortified and immediately the scripture that came to mind was “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

Very apt I said to myself as I winced at my folly! I was quick to judge the previous driver who had whizzed past me with no lights on about 20 minutes earlier, yet here I was caught in the same act when it was way past dark! I wondered what other drivers were thinking about me too!  Ouch!

How easy it is for us to judge others and point out their mistakes, than it is for us to see our own folly at times. We wonder what’s wrong with them, label and castigate them for their mistakes; often forgetting that we too are as frail and human as they are.  We are quick to judge the motives of others and think we have them all figured out while we sweep our own shortcomings under the carpet. Matthew 7 has more to say to us on this:

“Judge[a] not, that you be not judged. For with what [b]judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

This was the point Jesus sought to drive home to the people who brought a woman caught in adultery to him. Per the Law of Moses, the verdict for such a sin was death by stoning. They were so sure the end for her was death and wanted Jesus’ endorsement. Jesus simply said to them; “let him who has no sin be the first to cast a stone”. One by one, they dropped their stones and left. Jesus had touched a sore nerve.  Each of them could identify their own sinfulness. As they stood before Jesus, they could not deny their own darkened hearts.

They had the proverbial log in their eyes and yet they were quick to try and capitalize on the speck in their neighbour’s eye. It’s said that anytime you point your finger at someone, you have the other fingers pointed at yourself! So, let’s be careful! Wisdom requires us to judge ourselves more harshly so we will not be judged. Drop that stone please!

Let’s treat others with the compassion we would wish for ourselves. Let’s let love lead and be gentle with the faults of others as we are also human and prone to mistakes. The analogy of Jesus is interesting isn’t it? Imagine having a huge log in your eyes and yet being able to see past that to the speck, (almost unrecognizable) in another person’s eye! Perhaps we see the faults of others only because the log has impaired our vision.

“Lord, deliver us from the blindness that magnifies the faults of others and diminishes our own! Help us to view each other with compassion, correcting in love if need be, but careful not to be judgmental and self-righteous in our posture towards others.”

Will you drop that stone and say ‘Amen’?