Matthew 7:1 – “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.

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. (NIV)

Around ten years ago I read the book UnChristian by David Kinaman and Gabe Lyons.  The book took a critical look at how the unchurched people in America view Christianity.  Using research provided by the Barna Institute, the authors stated that there are approximately 100 million unchurched people in the United States.  Of those 100 million people, 87% perceive Christians to be judgmental.  If those numbers are even close to being correct, that suggests that 87 million people in our country perceive us to be judgmental.  We can argue that their perceptions are wrong, but their perception is their reality, and to reach the unchurched with the message of Jesus Christ, we must somehow break through that perception barrier.

I don’t think that being judgmental is a new phenomenon among religious people.  Two thousand years ago, Jesus cautioned his followers against being judgmental.  Too make his point, Jesus used customary rabbinical exaggeration: “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?”  Of course, no one actually was walking around with a plank in their eye, but the point is clear – it is easier for us to notice the sins of others than it is to notice our own.  I don’t believe that Jesus would have us overlook or ignore the sins of others, but we would better serve others, and the kingdom of God, if we first addressed our own sin.

Today, let us refrain from being judgmental.  Let us instead focus on removing the planks from our own eyes so that we will be better able to help one another remove the splinter from their own. 

Posted by Ramón Torres