"Seeing clearly" - discussing the 'logs' of Matthew 7:1-6

Introduction

A “plank” in our eye … now that’s a problem! Verse 3 reads: “Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye”? When we try to discover the root of the reason why we would unduly and unfairly “judge” anyone, we discover it here in verse 3 … it is the metaphorical “log” or “plank” in our eye, that is the major problem! This “log” can lead us to quite inappropriate communication or behaviour toward others; and this can be very problematical for the well-being, and even salvation, of others!

For this “log” will severely impede our vision – the way we look at things, see things and interpret things! We can turn people off, and away!! It not only can lead to inappropriate ‘judging’, but also to ‘blindness’ in other areas, e.g. not being able to see different or new perspectives, missing the needs being expressed by others, and even ignoring suffering. We would have to ask … what is it (really) this “log”? How did it get there, and how do we get rid of it?

One of the most important facets of the Christian life is to be able to see clearly – that we have good vision! This is so that, when we do speak, we speak wisely, and out of clear love and compassion for others. We ultimately need to be able to properly see between right and wrong, discern between light and darkness, and decide between good and bad. We need to see clearly to make the right decisions. We need to have clarity to treat people in the right way. We need to be free of visual impediments … if we are to be the helpers that other people need us to be. Clearly this starts with self-examination!

That “log” problem!

Any decent “log or plank” is way bigger than the eye itself (perhaps Jesus was thinking of the roof “beam” of a house), emphasising strongly the relative difference between a big “log” … as against a tiny “speck (of sawdust)” or a “splinter”. Having a “log” like this, makes us quick to react to the small issues in others, without considering the big issues in us. We see the perceived faults in others, way before recognising them in ourselves. Surely this is hypocritical, easily detected by others, and very unattractive. Yet, if we were to have the correct level of self-awareness and humility, we would be far less reactive and judgmental in our response to others.

Sometimes we can only deal with our own faults or vulnerabilities by striking out at others. Michael Green writes, All to often, what we condemn in others are the weaknesses we dare not face up to in ourselves. Those who react badly to any such condemnation have a point … at least until we are trying to get our own act together. If we just understood how much God was forgiving in us, and even how some of our loved ones were cutting us a fair bit of slack (because they love us) – then we would be far more prepared to be understanding and patient with others. This is NOT a call to mind your own business, quite the contrary; this is a call to deal adequately with your “log”, so that your life and conversation can be a blessing and encouragement to others.

The far-reaching context of these thoughts, is that God wants to reach into the lives of many people who are currently unknown to him (for a great variety of reasons). Because of this, Jesus, in his teaching of his disciples, calls us to, like the medical oath that doctors take … ‘do no harm’! Jesus, actually, calls us to be more proactive than this … right through to loving our enemies; however here (Matthew 7:1-5), Jesus wants us to be sure not to get in his way (or God’s way) in expressing acceptance and grace to people everywhere. Let’s NOT put anyone off from the possibility of faith!

What are our “logs”? What is it that ‘blinds’ us?? Here are some possibilities:

• Comparison or envy. We can be so busy looking around at others, comparing what they have or what they do (good and bad) … to our own life. This can come out of feelings of inadequacy in comparison to other people – forgetting to accept that God has created us in a particular unique way. Because of this particular “log”, we tend to miss our own moments of discovery, opportunity and growth, and we fail to gain the level of peace that allows us to express joy. This also blocks our path to knowing and doing God’s will, and being in God’s place in God’s time; for we are too busy looking at the latest attractions (or, distractions). As the saying goes: ‘Some people makes things happen, others wonder … what happened’!

• Getting bogged down in ‘guilt’ and ‘shame’. When any habitual sin has a grip on us, it is nearly impossible to react well, let alone helpfully, to others. When we feel trapped in negativity, and lack hope for any way out, we are like a time-bomb ready to explode – watch out … the next person who crosses our path (and looks at us sideways)! If we feel dreadful about ourselves, we are often difficult to live with.

• Self-preoccupation. Our “log” here would be seeing ourselves as more deserving than anyone else – or more right than anyone else … either of these would certainly place a huge “log” in our path. This could derive from a deep fear of the future, or change, or difference, or of just being out of control of the events surrounding us. Here there can be a deep defensiveness. Associated with this may be a fixation on our own agenda. Perhaps we have particular views, that are almost, perhaps unconsciously, more important than other people’s needs or the free presentation of grace. I could list a few such views, but may in so doing, step on a few toes (including my own). Maybe we are attaching things to the Gospel, which although may be important in a discipleship sense, is putting the cart before the horse, and potentially blocking a person’s access to Jesus. We can place far too high expectations on others at times. We have to allow people to explore and belong … on the path of finding out what to believe (rather than imposing our will on them).

• Another possible “log” jam is bitterness – bitterness about missed opportunities, or the hurts inflicted on us by others. We can get so tied up in this, and so defeated in this, and so isolated in this, that we become blind to anything else around us, including expressions of love genuinely given to us. Everything that happens to us and around us is then seen through the filter of our feelings – how we personally are affected. As we know, in the cool light of day, it is the offering of forgiveness that brings freedom from the “log” of bitterness – giving forgiveness to others, and forgiving ourselves.

Sadly, "logs" lead to judgement!!

Being a “judge”

The Greek word translated “judge” (verse 1) includes the possibility of: bringing (self-righteous) harsh hurtful criticism, finding fault, making negative assessments, saying unfavourable things, casting doubt on someone’s motives (a real relationship breaker), writing people off, or condemning someone to a particular fate (which is an ultimate act of usurping God). Some people, with large “logs”, may even enjoy such fault-finding.

Many of us would have to admit … that we have had the advantage of good moral and ethical teaching from God’s Word – however, so many others, increasingly so, have NOT had this advantage. Therefore, we should be very hesitant to apply our standards to those who don’t yet know Jesus. And, in any case, we are simply NOT wise enough to be anyone’s judge, mainly because we cannot know all of their story, background, circumstances, struggles – what they been through, as well as all the genetic and social influences that have impacted on them!

We are also in no position to fully understand people’s motives or convictions, nor judge their failings and weaknesses – we simply do NOT walk in their shoes. We would be more likely than not, to misdiagnose and misadvise – especially while we persist with that “log” in our eye (blocking our vision). And, we will never be the ultimate authority, anyway! Actually, if we did ever walk in another’s shoes, we may, rather than condemning them, congratulate them for the great strides they have made (Michael Hardin).

And this judgment, that we may bring to others (even though we shouldn’t), has an effect on how God reacts to us (refer verse 2)! We should pause to contemplate this. How would it be … if God was thinking about us in this negative way!! Or to put this another way, what if the same criteria we apply to others, was applied to us!? Just like unforgiveness, judging others places barriers up … between God and how God wants to relate to us and bless us. Ultimately, habitual relentless critics, this being a work of the “flesh”, have no home in the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

We can speak out against social evils, but we must be very careful about personalising this; especially because of our own propensity to have a “log” in our eye. It is only as the “log” over our eye, that is blocking our clear vision, is removed – that we can offer proper and helpful feedback to another person. This is because it can now be properly intentioned, and full of pure love and concern. If we could actually ditch our “logs”, then any speck in another’s eye, rather than being cause for criticism, would be seen as an opportunity of ministry.

Dispensing with the “log”

How do we remove the “log”?? How can we ensure we don’t “judge”? What steps might we need to take?

1. Our forgiveness – by focussing wholly on God’s acceptance of us through Jesus – the mercy we have received, the forgiveness of our sin, the new life of spiritual freedom we have entered, and the Holy Spirit sweeping through us. If we grab hold of and appreciate God's forgiveness of us, we will come to 'see' far more clearly. 

2. Delve deeply into how Jesus lived – if we don’t look as deeply into life’s situations as Jesus did, then we may not get a hold of how Jesus would approach the prevailing issues. Many in Germany were blind to where Hitler was leading that country through the 1930’s, and in so doing, gave tacit approval to what was going on – leading to all sorts of evil. While our blinders are down, we can miss the boat. We need to have our way of life formed by Jesus. 

3. Understand our mission – we can get tied up in knots and fixated on ourselves, or rather, bring to the forefront of our mind … our evangelical job description as a follower of Jesus. Jesus came to seek and save the lost; like the Good Shepherd pursuing His wayward sheep, and the father running to embrace his prodigal son, God our Father mercifully goes out to find His lost children so that none should perish (Pope Francis). And Jesus calls us into that self-same mission.

[When the congregation were given opportunity to respond to this question, there were all sorts of good comments around changing our perspective to the situation of another, considering how God thinks of them, and to prioritise 'love'. Also the conversation came back to focussing on Jesus, rather than all other less important matters.]



Now we have that clear vision to offer a helpful serving ministry to others – because we have seen their need, and have noticed their suffering, and have been able to see things from their perspective, and have sensed the leading of God … as to the approach we could take. We have now allowed God to release us toward being encouragers and offering wise positive guidance. However, if we don’t take some steps like these … if we remain blinded by any particular “log”, then we will likely become the sort of “judge” that Jesus refers to here, with the ramifications that follow.

Discernment

Sometimes it is hard to see the connection between verses 1 to 5, and verse 6. Here’s the connection I see. Seeing clearly (without impediment) also allows us to discern how and where to expend our ministry. We can discover a focus – a God-directed focus. We can otherwise … be all over the shop involved in everything with everybody, being ‘at table’ with everyone, expending a lot of energy, getting really tired, but not seeing much ‘reward’ for our efforts. The reality is, that we just can’t force ourselves, our ways, our beliefs on the scornful and thoroughly resistant. Of course, we cannot pre-conceive who these may be, but rather, we would find this out in practice.

Some just do not want to know. At another time, Jesus said that if the disciples were NOT received well, they should walk away – “shake off the dust from your feet” (Matt 10:14). It can be counter-productive for us, and it can be counter-productive for others out of season, if we pointlessly persist. Proverbs 9:8 says, “A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you”. Such ones are here described as wild savage dogs, and unclean filthy pigs (the worst of possibilities for a Jew). [They are only interested in food.] Such may end up dominating and destroying us. So we need discernment – the Holy Spirit’s discernment – fully open eyes. We have to be able to see clearly … to discern the seasons.

Sometimes, no matter how well-meaning we are, certain ones are just NOT going to respond to us or the Gospel, or, at least, respond at this time. Sharing life and the Gospel with them, may be for another time and for someone else. Sometimes, if we don’t realise this, and charge in regardless all guns blazing, we may do more harm than good. And some of that harm may come to us … in our confidence levels and sense of peace; and harm may also come to the effectiveness of later Gospel presentations in those persons’ lives. I would call this ‘seasonal sensitivity’! Here, there may be much more need for the fruit of patience and gentleness. We sometimes need to feel free, following appropriate discernment, to move on to greener pastures.

Some say times of trauma or grief are good times to share the Gospel, but this is usually completely wrong. This has caused some zealous yet misguided people to offer spiritual tracts to those who are suffering at the most inappropriate time. Fire recovery zones and funerals are two examples of where damage has been done to people in grief. The research is in on this, and is clear. This has had the effect of hardening and closing people off from the Gospel, because those sharing it were more interested in their own agenda than purely loving, supporting and encouraging the ones who were hurting.

Conclusion

We have seen that a “log” over our eye, can cause our ‘blindness’ to all sorts of things. We can misread and misjudge the situations before us, and miss other things altogether. It doesn’t then matter how rightly or clearly the preacher points something out, it just cannot be heard or seen! You can draw a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink … if it can’t appreciate, because of impaired vision, that the water is right in front of them.

Yet, we have an open invitation for our eyes to be opened, to gaze on the wonder of our Lord Jesus, and to receive his grace. And having done that, we will know that the Christian community should be a merciful community, that openly promotes the broad redemptive possibilities of tomorrow. We, in human solidarity, are willing to openly acknowledge our own shortcomings, so that we are inviting people into an honest, caring place of sincere welcome.