Devotional Messages

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

Matthew 7:1-5 – “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 neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘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 neighbor’s eye. (NRSV)

Last Sunday, our reading from James began with the warning “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”  These words come to mind as I try to comment on the verses above from Matthew.  How does one even talk about judgment with judging?  In the logic of the metaphor, we can decide to remove the log from our own eye and then, supposedly, we will see clearly enough to help others with their issues.  But can we, in fact, even remove the totality of our own culpability, whatever those sins may amount to?  We all have blindspots and weaknesses, and try as we might, removing them completely seems unlikely.

So how does anyone dare to teach, much less judge, another?  Do we just throw up our hands, acquiesce to a life of hypocrisy, and give up on having moral standards of any kind?  That does not seem like a blueprint for a better world.

I would venture to suggest that the only reason we are able to strive for something better at all is because of the mercy of God.  We can recognize that we are all hypocrites – all subject to indulging in our favorite temptations while judging others for theirs – and still aim to be better because we trust that there is forgiveness for our sins (and theirs).  Indeed, admitting that we need God’s mercy is a good way to hold ourselves back from judging others who are beneficiaries of that same mercy.

That second line in this passage that implies that we will be judged by the judgment we held over others does not ring true to me, though sometimes when I look at others’ behavior, I wish it were.  Blessedly, we are not judged by one another or ourselves; we are judged by God, who is both just and merciful.  The standards can stay high, helping us strive for righteousness, and yet the fountain of mercy will never run dry.  Hallelujah!