There are a few Bible verses that some outside the faith often hurl at those inside the faith. One of those verses is in view today. Jesus said, “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.” One slight correction – Christians also often hurl that verse at each other. There is truth in that verse, but there is more to understand before we carelessly give someone that pearl of wisdom.
The whole of the passage is Matthew 7:1-6. “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:1–6, CSB)
The judgment in view here is not limited to the harsh light of condemnation. It is more neutral and essentially means expressing positive or negative criticism in order to influence the thoughts and actions of others. One way or another, expressing opinions to influence others is something we do every day. If we move on from the declaration of “do not judge,” we’ll see that Jesus is concerned more about hypocritical criticism than a moratorium on judgment.
Jesus reminds us that we will eventually be judged by the same standard we use to judge others. We are often critical of someone’s actions while taking little regard for their motives while, at the same time, judging our own actions by our motives. We give ourselves grace but often neglect or refuse to give that same grace to others. That is hypocritical judgment.
To emphasize His point, Jesus gives us a word picture of trying to remove a speck of sawdust in someone’s eye while we have a beam of wood in our own eye. But notice, Jesus isn’t saying to ignore the speck but to deal with our own beam first. Examine yourself before you examine others.
There is one more truth in the imagery of speck and beam. If you can see a flaw in someone else, there’s a large probability that you are also flawed. It’s easy to see sin in others and ignore our own sins. Following the Jesus Way means humbly inviting the Holy Spirit to examine our own hearts before we address the sawdust we see in others.
And then Jesus says something cryptic without explanation. “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.” Let’s keep this in the context of the above. Could the pearls be the judgment and opinions (both positive and negative) that are anchored in God’s Word? Christians have a tendency to address and judge behavior instead of simply proclaiming the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom. In other words, we often get trapped in molding folks to act right instead of showing them the way to be right.
Jesus’ teaching doesn’t rule out moments of judgment or criticism but reminds of that we need to look at our own issues first. By what standard or rule do you want to be examined? That is the standard to use for others. Do you want grace and mercy? Then show grace and mercy to others. Don’t neglect the speck in others but look to your own fault and sin first. We must walk this out while recognizing that some are not yet ready to hear correction because they are not yet walking the Jesus Way.
We must close the circle before we end. What about those that hurl this verse at us for simply speaking God’s Word? First of all, know that even though they are judging you, they are not your supreme judge. Second, we must evaluate ourselves; perhaps we are judging them or casting pearls of wisdom they are not ready to hear. Lastly, forgive them and pray that God would reveal Himself to them (Matthew 5:44).
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