The Log and the Speck

The Log and the Speck

Judging others is a terrible sickness that afflicts almost everyone—both worldly and religious people. Most of them are incurable. This ugly sin also ensnares Christians.

With a plank or log in your own eye, you are evil, and interested in rebuking others and belittling them. Acting as if you are an eye doctor is only hypocrisy. However, once you have removed the log out of your own eye, you have become good, and at the same time you have gained sharp vision (Dutch tr.) so that you have become well qualified to remove the speck from other people’s eyes. Then you are sincerely interested in helping others. This is the direct opposite of being a judge. The difference is like night and day.

In the first instance, we ought to be passive (and negative) and not take any action whatsoever in a matter, since our intervention would lead only to harm.

Then, we ought to be positive and active and help all those who are willing to be helped.

How clear and glorious and life-giving Jesus’ words are! “Hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.” V. 5. It is in this instance as with everything else: We should not undertake anything that we definitely are not suited for. Unfortunately, most people have an exaggerated sense of their own worth.