judge and jury

^{Matthew 7:1-2}

¹“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Never used to “get” these verses. Never. And by saying that, what I mean is that I didn’t understand what the heck they were talking about.

But now? Oh yea, I get them all right—maybe a little too well. 

You see, I am a recovering hypercritical person—a fault-finding junkie. It’s something I’ve struggled with my entire life. In the past, my attitude went something like this; if a certain person didn’t meet “my standards” for living, then I figured there was something wrong with them. It didn’t matter whether they deserved my condemnation or not, I judged them anyway. 

A few years back, I stumbled across these verses from Matthew Seven—words spoken by Jesus when he gave his Sermon on the Mount. When I read them, I was fascinated. First of all, because I was starting to get what Jesus was saying, and, secondly, because I realized that in the same way I was judging others my own heart was condemning me.

^2 “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Ironically, while I was busy judging others, I was accusing myself. Whatever I saw wrong in another, I became hyper-aware that it was wrong with me, too. Waves of guilt crashed against my soul again and again. It was like I was receiving the same amount of judgment I was doling out. I held the measuring stick for what a “good” person does. The problem is that while I held that measuring stick, I realized that I wasn’t meeting the mark either. And deep inside my soul I knew it.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.'

The word picture of a speck compared to a log stayed with me and I finally understood how these verses applied to me. I started to “get” them. 

Jesus understood this notion of judging and being judged. That’s why he tucked these words away in the middle of one of his most famous sermons. These words are golden and ones that we all need to heed.

Do you see it, too? The irony of believing that you’re right and everyone else is wrong? Trust me I’ve been there. That’s why I call myself a recovering junkie when it comes to being someone else’s judge and jury. 

I’ve learned that I have no right to judge anyone. I really don’t. Neither do you. When you find yourself focusing on others’ shortcomings, are you missing the “plank” in your own eye?

Though I can’t say I’ve mastered it, I’ve learned that taking care of the plank in my own eye helps me see others a bit more clearly. 

After all, if you think a speck of saw dust in your eye hurts, imagine how much more painful a plank would be. It’s time to take those planks out so we can stop condemning each other and start loving our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.