Friday, March 19, 2010

A Speck of Sin

“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? 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? 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.”
Matthew 7:3-5

It may not be wrong to judge, but it is surely wrong to fall into judgmentalism. All too frequently, those who are anxious to remove the speck from the eye of a sinner are blind to the plank in their own eye. Of course, the illustration is ridiculous; it is meant to be so. Jesus has us smile at the foolishness of those whose self-righteousness makes them blind to their faults, but hyper-sensitive to the faults of others. Then, the smile disappears as we remember that we, too, are perfectly capable of behaving in this way. In the end, the only one who can judge perfectly is the perfect Judge.

This does not mean that we are incapable of exercising any discernment, but it does mean two things: first, we should be very hesitant when we judge others, always erring on the side of mercy; and, second, we should be careful not to apply to others standards that we do not apply to ourselves. Most of the time, we are willing to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. We make excuses for our behavior. We justify ourselves. But that is precisely what we cannot do. We are all, equally, sinners in the sight of God. Without the cleansing we receive from the fountain of God’s mercy none of us would be saved. And it does not really matter whether we have a splinter or a plank in our eye. Every sin, no matter how small, separates us from our holy God. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.[1] There is not one who is righteous.[2] Therefore, whether we are slightly less or more corrupt than our neighbor is of no consequence. We are all in need of the healing power of God’s forgiveness, won for all those who believe in the crucible of the cross.

We should be careful how we judge one another lest we fall into censoriousness. This was the sin of the Pharisees. Let it not be ours.

Forgiving God,
Your mercy is beyond mortal comprehension.
Where I would condemn, and walk away,
You come towards to bless,
asking only for a contrite heart that claims the merits of Your Son.
May such a heart be mine, today and every day.
Amen.

[1] Romans 3:22-23
[2] Romans 3:10