Clear Our Vision

In our conversations and interactions with other people, we need to continually bring to mind these words of Jesus: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged… How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1, 4).
The judgement that Jesus forbids in Matthew 7 is the judgement of hypocrites who concern themselves with a speck in their brother’s eye even while they are stumbling around with beams under their own eyelids. They expect perfection from others but are far from perfect themselves. They have an attitude that can only be described as judgemental.
Did you notice the blatant contrast? A log compared to a speck! And remember, Scripture says we will be judged according to the way we judge. The standard of measure we use will be the measure by which we are measured. That’s a sobering thought. Do I expect the same thing from myself that I consistently expect from others? Am I willing to give the kind of mercy I would like to receive? Am I willing to extend the sort of love that grants grace and covers imperfections?
The judging that Jesus calls hypocritical is that which notices specks in the eyes of others and misses our own logs and beams. This is why we need to spend time with God daily, allowing Him to clear our vision.
- Kay Arthur