Do you ever get a speck of dust in your eye? I am currently suffering from this right now. I have been dealing with this for several minutes. Okay, so this will be cleared up really soon, and not usually a very big deal. This minor annoyance got me thinking about “the speck in my brother’s eye” that I have read several times in the Bible. In both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, this is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus calls all of us hypocrites out on the carpet. He rhetorically asks us why we are focused on someone else’s faults when we have our own. This is not to say that we should not ever say anything to anyone about what they are doing wrong, but Jesus does tell us to examine ourselves and what faults we may have. If we are guilty and can fix it, then we need to do that so that we may help someone else out.
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log 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 brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5 (English Standard Version)
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. Luke 6:37-42 (ESV)
(My eye is good to go now! After I looked up the passages on the bible website, my eye felt better. It’s as if God had something to do with it…)
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