Matthew 7:1-6

Matthew 7:1-6

Do not judge in order that you should not be judged.  For you all will be judged in whatever judgment you judge.  And it will be measured out to you all in whatever measure you all measure.  And why do you see at the splinter of wood that is in the eye of your brother and you do not give consideration to the beam of wood that is in your own eye?  Or how will you say to your brother, “Allow me to remove the splinter of wood out of your eye,” and behold the beam of wood is in your own eye?  Pretender!  First remove the beam out of your own eye and then you will see plainly to remove the splinter of wood out of the eye of your brother.  You all should not give the holy things to the dogs, nor should you all cast your pearls before the pigs lest they trample them in their feet and after turning around they should rend you.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I twitch when I read the opening verse of this passage.  It doesn’t matter which Gospel I read it in, I have an automatic twitch when I read this.  I have heard this verse used to try and say that we as Christians have no right to tell other people what is sin and what is not sin.  After all, people who assert this position claim that we have no right to judge.  But Jesus is not saying that we have no right to discern truth and godliness.  We should absolutely make judgments about what is godly behavior and what is not godly behavior.  What we do not have the right to do is to “judge in terms of condemnation.”  That’s what the Greek word here for “judge” really means.  It has nothing to do with discerning.  Jesus is telling us that we have no right to judge the condemnation of another person.  After all, that is God’s role.  But we should be discerning truth and sinfulness all the time!

How do you see the difference between discerning sin and judging others in condemnation?  How easy is it for you to look upon sin without judging the sinner into condemnation?

Second Thought:

I do love the middle part of this passage.  Jesus tells us that we should be far more concerned with our own individual problems than the problems of others.  In fact, I especially love the advice that Jesus gives about taking care of our own eye before helping another.  I can’t tell you how many times in my life I’ve wanted to “help someone else.”  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to “disciple someone” so I could “fix them.”  But I’ve come to realize something.  Until God fixes me, I can’t hope to help fixing anyone else.  Until God’s redemptive process is at work in me, I can’t possibly hope to be a part of God’s redemptive process being at work in someone else.  God has to do in me before God can do through me.  God has to help me get rid of my own beam before I am able to help my neighbor get the splinter out of his eye.

How interested are you in helping others live more according to God’s ways?  How willing are you to be under God’s microscope before He asks you to participate in His plan to help others live more according to His ways?

Third Thought:

The last verse of this passage really struck a chord with me.  In fact, I don’t ever remember reading the last phrase of this passage.  I know Jesus tells us to not give the holy things to the dogs and who hasn’t heard about casting our pearls before swine.  But I don’t ever recall reading the caution that they might turn on you – and especially the part about rending – tearing – a person apart!  Wow.  Talk about a warning.  So what is Jesus saying here?  Jesus is telling us to be careful.  He’s not telling us to be exclusive.  But He is warning us to realize that when we share the riches that God has given to us we could be opening ourselves up for attack and assault!  This is a great reason to return to the idea that we must be discerning.  We need to discern who it is that God has asked to put our pearls of His truth before and who it is that will only trample upon God’s truth and turn around and attack us for it.  That requires discernment.

Have you ever considered that sometimes when we try and reach out in God’s love that we might actually be giving ammunition to the people we are trying to reach because they are unwilling to hear?  Why is this important to remember?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 7:7-11