Daily Devotion (March 13, 2024)
Matthew 7:1–5 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 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.”
Judging, criticizing, condemning, words that are found on the lips of many people and if not on the lips in the mind of many.
I started out last night to write about the words Jesus used that could be somewhat humorous. The question came up in discussion with myself, (yes, I do carry on conversations with myself often) “did Jesus have a sense of humor?” Putting that thought aside, we do know He used at times “gross exaggeration”. We can see a person walking around with a plank in their eye. What is Jesus’ point? It is easy to see the fault in others and never the fault in ourselves.
When we criticize, do we look at our own life. Do we measure another person according to our own standard. And if we are measuring the life of another, is it based on the Word of God or our own standard. Stephen Covey wrote in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek First to understand then to be understood.” If we are judging according to our understanding, then we are not listening to the other person. Better than this is we should look at others through the eyes of Jesus.
I have found myself measuring a person by my own standard. I’ve learned to listen to others. Not so much the words or actions of other people but trying to understand why they do what they do or say what they say.
We critique others for different reasons. It may be to boost our own self-image, it maybe we take pleasure in criticizing or maybe it makes us look better in our own eyes because we are not like them. Jesus says we should not judge others without first looking at ourselves.
Judging others does not make us a better person, it only builds a wall between us and them. Should we judge or should we try and understand. Remember we too will be judged. Before we judge, seek to understand.