Jesus told his followers not to judge others quickly when they too had many weaknesses.
He said:
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.
For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.
Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your neighbour, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.
Reflection on what Jesus says about Judging Others
For me, Jesus is teaching about how we are quick to judge others – which, let’s be honest, we are all prone to do.
However, with the progress of social media, random hypocritical and condemnatory judgment seems to have escalated in the world today.
Jesus tells us that none of us is perfect, and perhaps a better position might be to address our own weaknesses (of which I have many).
This is why Jesus asks; why are you examining a speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye when you have a log in your own?
Perhaps we should acknowledge our own weaknesses and humbly bring them before God to ask for his love and grace to overcome them.
I believe that Jesus is saying that after we have done this (and only if we feel that we really must), then we can offer help to take the speck out of our neighbour’s eye.
This could allow us to provide helpful support in humility and love, with the genuine hope of assisting.
