Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
It would seem that we often indulge in judging others in order to divert attention from ourselves, both our own attention and that of others. We point out others' faults both to make them look bad our ourselves morally superior. Look at us, we seem to say, here on the moral high ground. We often pretend that our criticism is practical, as though it could somehow actually move the needle to address those things with which we find fault. But the fact of the matter is that we don't often have the clarity to provide meaningful assistance. Our eye is still too occluded with our own distorted sinful tendencies.
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
We are meant to want to remove the splinter from the eye of our brother, but on the basis of a more selfless and enlightened motivation. This is possible if self-reflection and repentence are consistent practices in our own lives. When we do notice issues in the lives of others we ought to ask ourselves the reason we are concerned. Are they triggering something, threatening us somehow, or causing us to feel annoyed? Or is it rather that in the context or our relationship with them we feel that fraternal correction is necessary? Without such a relationship, either that of a fellow disciple, or with someone in one's charge, what is the point of expressing our judgment? Sometimes we may need to help clarify both our own thinking about public figures and that of those with whom we share life. But this doesn't extend very far. It probably never extends to the latest celebrity gossip.
The idea is that we will eventually see clearly enough to remove the splinter from our brother's eye. But this is only possible when we judge others in the way we want to be judged, and measure out only what we would want measured out to us. This is similar to the parable of the unforgiving servant. We can't expect to receive the leniency that we desperately need unless we are willing to offer it to others generously. We need to become like Jesus himself, who loved us too much to leave the boards in our eyes, but to remove them took the whole burden on himself first before offering to share his yoke and help transform us.
Vineyard Worship Featuring Kate Cooke - Refiner's Fire
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