Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. (NLT)
In today’s passage we have a couple of well known sayings of Jesus, but many have found it difficult to understand why verse six would come immediately following the first five verses. Some feel that they seemingly contradict one another. The first five verses speak of the danger of judging others, while verse six implies that a judgment must be made! If we are not to waste what is holy on the unholy, as verse six tells us, then we must make a judgment as to what is holy and unholy.
There are two schools of thought about why these seemingly contradictory verses are included together. First, some claim that the Gospel writer was simply writing down the collected sayings of Jesus, and not necessarily putting them in any order. If this is so, then we would have a very difficult time understanding the context of anything written in the Gospel.
The second thought concerning these verses is that Jesus was talking about the interaction of his followers with people in general. There was no need to be telling people about how sinful and wrong they were when his followers had issues of their own (verses 1-5), and there was no need to waste their time trying to convince anyone of anything if they were not receptive to listen (verse 6).
This is good advice for Christians today. Christians are becoming known for what they are against instead of the Good News. There is no need for us to go around telling others, and in particular telling non-believers, how sinful they are when we have our own issues with which to deal. Additionally, there is no need for Christians to endlessly argue with non-believers about Jesus if they are not receptive to the message. There are some things – and people – that we must leave up to God. When we have done our part, we move on, trusting that God may send someone else to that person.
Today, let’s refrain from being too critical of others. Also, let us remember that Jesus said that the harvest fields are ready (Matthew 9:37), there are plenty of people who are willing to listen to the Good News, so let’s share the Good News with those who will listen.
Posted by Ramón Torres
Thank you Ramon🙏