So what does this mean? Can we actually understand this and when we do understand it, is it possible to live it? Sure we can, I know people that live it really well and I am quite good at it these days myself.
Matthew 7: 3-5 (New King James Version)
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 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? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
One of the easiest things to do is find fault. Bad news travels far and gossip is a tasty morsel the writer of the proverbs says. It is so easy to look at people's lives and find their faults and not like them for it.
Many of us feel the need to say to a person that they need to change and stop doing the thing that is wrong. Many of us are not led by the Holy Spirit in these matters and we have a big log of judgment in our eyes. Jesus is not like that. Jesus has all the time in the world for sinners. In fact the reason He has not returned yet is that He wants more time to save the 4 billion people that are not Christians on this earth.
Jesus has every right to judge us, but the only judgment Jesus is going to do is on judgment day.
Do you know the plank of indemnity and judgment and any other of our sins is a lot easier to take out of our eyes? You see it is easy to get hold of a plank, and a lot more difficult to get hold of a little speck in a person's eye.
We like to judge others. We get offended by people's behavior and yet our own lives are not spotless. We need to let the Holy Spirit do His work in our lives.
I have a friend that used to be in the gay lifestyle. When I met him he had not been with a man for two years and also had not masturbated for that time also. Yet he still had earrings in both the right and left ear. Normally, here in Australia having an earring in your right ear means that you are gay. I was tempted to tell him to take that earring out of his ear but but Jesus told me to be quiet and not to say a word. Within a year it was out of his ear.
When I saw it was not in his ear for a month or so I told him I was proud that he did not have it in his ear anymore. He asked why I was happy and I told him that while he had it he was still advertising that he was gay. He told me that if I had told him to take it out a year before that he would not have continued our friendship.
Do you walk around with a great log of offense and judgment in your eye? Have you got a total clear record when it comes to sin? Are there things about your life that others can see are very bad? Jesus says first clean up your act before you start telling others to change.
Jesus as I said is not silly. Living a loving grace filled life, like my pastor who does not judge anyone, is just a superior way to go.
Of course you can pray for your friend and you can come along them and tell them you are in their corner and that you are going to pray for them and their issues that God would grant them the grace to conquer them.
Jesus is so cool the way He loves us so extravagantly. His Holy Spirit is constantly in our ear about things we need to change, and still Jesus blesses us with His joy, peace that come from his presence while we walk out our lives walk.
Be like Jesus. Do not be offended. Love!
Be Blessed
Matthew Robert Payne.