Questions Jesus Asked - Judging Others (4)

Here’s one for you – “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?”

One thing you can say about Jesus, he didn’t sugarcoat it. We find this question in Matthew 7, verse 3. I’m not sure this one needs a lot of explanation. Jesus is pointing out how hypocritical we can be when we go around pointing out everyone else’s faults. He’s holding up a mirror and asking us to take a look – what do you see?

One misconception of this teaching would be to say that we should never point out other people’s problems to them. That’s not what Jesus says. In verse 5, He tells us to first remove the plank from our own eye, and then we will be able to see clearly enough to help our friend remove the speck from their eye. You’ve heard the saying, “It takes one to know one.” When it comes to seeing other people’s issues, the reason we can so quickly recognize them is because we live with the same issues in our own lives every day. So, Jesus simple tells us to remember we’re probably worse off than our friends, so we need to deal with our stuff and then help others.

I think the process of dealing with our own junk also provides the humility we need to truly help someone else. If we truly recognize the plank in our own eye, then we can help our friends remove the speck. Knowing we’re really in no position to judge them – we can simply help them.

So, take a peak in the mirror – what planks are you struggling to see around? Why not let others help you with those issues and in turn you’ll be able to help others – in humility and love.

/D

Upside Down

The Purpose of the "Law"

I know I have gotten away from my “Questions Jesus Asked,” I will get back to those in the future. Until then, you’re stuck with my random thoughts.

I am reminded again of how God wants us to treat each other. Throughout the Bible, God continuously points us to learn how to love each other. Now, you may ask, what about the Law. God gave us all these rules we are supposed to follow – that’s how we are a good person, right? Follow all the rules.

I hope this helps – NO! That’s not the purpose of the Law! The reality is we cannot keep all the rules – that was the point. If we could keep the rules we would not need Jesus. Well then, what did Jesus teach us about the Law?

Jesus was asked about the Law and He said this – Love God with everything you are and love others.

That’s it! Jesus said all of the Law and even everything we read about the Prophets are all summed up into those two things – actually, one thing – LOVE. Jesus demonstrated what that looked like when the women caught in the act of adultery was dragged out before Him. The Law said she and her partner should be stoned to death.

Jesus’ response? He said let the person who has never messed up throw the first stone. At least those people were honest enough to drop their stones and walk away.

What we tend to do is want to help everyone else live by the Law – we point out every “wrong” thing (at least in our opinion) they do – we pick up stones and hurl them.

If we really want to enjoy life, we need to learn to love – it starts with loving God and then moves to loving people as we allow God to transform our hearts.

Next time you find yourself standing with a stone in your hand – I hope you’ll drop it and walk away.

\D

Judging Motives

This is one of those ideas I have thought about often and I believe it to be true, but difficult to do. The principle is that we simply cannot judge other people’s motives – and we shouldn’t try. Obviously, this usually only surfaces as an issue when someone we do not trust attempts to do something good or nice for us.

When this happens to me my initial reaction is pretty much always a question – what’s the catch? In other words, I don’t trust you, what are you up to?

I do believe that it is normal and healthy to have this reaction, but here’s the problem. As a Christ follower I know God expects me to forgive others – after all He has completely forgiven me. However, I’m certainly not God and so I find that standard hard to live up to. Yet, that’s still what I know is the right thing to do.

How can others seek peace with me if I don’t give them a chance?

Again, let me be very clear, I do NOT have this one all figured out and do NOT practice what I’m “preaching” as often as I want to. But it is still true – if I want to heal relationships with those who have done me wrong in the past I must allow them a chance to do the right thing (you can see how this ties in with my post earlier this week).

BUT – what if they mistreat me again? What if I’m right and their motives are wrong?

This is the hard part of this idea – because too often their motives are still out of whack. I believe we need to approach these situations with caution – I do not believe we are called to be “doormats” for people to continue to hurt us. This is why we must have another relationship that we know is always solid. And the only One I know who always has my best in mind… is God. It is the security of that relationship that allows me to be willing to risk being hurt by others, because my sense of self-worth does not come from my relationship with other people – it comes from knowing who I am in God’s eyes – lived out in a daily relationship with Him.

My guess is some of you (maybe all of you) – regardless of your current relationship with God find this post a bit challenging to buy. Will you at least take some time to think about it? Consider it a Christmas present to me (and to yourself), to consider how you may be able to restore some old relationships that went bad for some reason or another. If we could all work on treating others better and giving more second (and third and fourth…) chances, what a much more merry Christmas would be.

If you know you’re the one on the end of this deal that “did someone else wrong,” go back and read “It’s Never to Late to Do the Right Thing” post from earlier this week.

Okay, that’s enough for one post. I’d love to get your feedback – so leave me your comments.

Here's one of the best songs I know that talks about who I am because of my relationship with God through Jesus...

Music Video:INTERVIEW: WHO AM I? (by Casting Crowns)

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