The Speck In Their Eye

"If Christ appeared to me, would I see Him for who He is, or would I be blinded to the truth? Would I even know Him? If only I would always treat others as I would Christ, then I should never have reason to be reproached."

~December 26, 2009

From my Bible study notebook

~*~

How often I am judgemental of others. I hold them to some impossible standards, while I, myself, sin against God. I can be so proud of my "goodness." So proud, in fact, that I am blinded to the truth. I do not see my broken promises as important, neither do I allow myself to see how my words often hurt and discourage my younger siblings.

I am a sinner. Far from perfect. I have not right to judge anyone else's actions. That makes me nothing but a hypocrite.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what 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" Matthew 7:1-5.

When I see women within the church dressed in a way that escapes the word modesty, I am being judgmental more times then not in my thoughts towards her. When I see families living outside of God's principles who claim Christ, I judge. Yet, look at me. There have been numerous times I have worn something just a little too tight, or a little to low cut, in hopes of drawing attention to myself. How many times have I not been totally truthful? Have I always been respectful and obedient to my parents? No, of course not!

Modesty is more an issue of the heart then a stern dress code. I can wear a sack that covers everything from my neck to my ankles but still be immodest. Immodesty is about attitudes of the heart, actions, and words that come from a sin filled heart. Thus, in matters of immodesty, I am just as guilty as anyone. How then can I judge?

I would be the first to admit my unfaithfulness in always living by God's principles. I have lied, talked ugly, disobeyed. I have judged others and been a hypocrite. I am not perfect, so why do I hold others to standards so high that I myself cannot keep them? And if they fail, I grind them into the dust with my thoughts and maybe even my words?

God holds everyone to very high standards. In fact, His standards are much higher then mine. Yet, He knows mankind. He knew we would fail because we are sinners. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us. He knew we would never measure up, but He loved us anyway.

My job is not to judge others faults, to condemn them. That is God's place. I am to live by God's standards to the best of my abilities, and while I can hold God's standards up for others to see and encourage them in keeping those standards, I cannot rightly judge them. "For all men fall short" (Romans 3:23), the Bible says. Even me. Especially me!

The next time I am tempted to judge another for his or her "sin," I am going to remember the planks in my own eyes and not expect perfection from them, because on earth perfection is unattainable. When a girl walks into church wearing something less then modest, I want to remember Matthew 7:1-5, and examine myself with all honesty. I want to encourage her to live by God's principles, and humbly ask her to encourage me to do the same. We must always remember the planks in our own eyes. For how can we possibly see well enough to judge others when there is no way we can clearly see the specks in their eyes for the boards in our own?