Blinded By Our Own Flaws

“Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye? How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye’? Look at yourself! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You hypocrite! First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your friend’s eye.” - Matthew 7:3-5

Do you ever wonder why we have a hard time not recognizing and acknowledging our own sin but notice and comment on the sinful things others do instead? Sometimes, we can be hypocrites, especially when we criticize people for what they do, and then do the same thing. Matthew 7:3-5 recognizes this is a big problem for people. Jesus reminds us in this passage that we have to look at ourselves first and what we do before criticizing others for doing the same thing.

Being critical and judging others can lead us to resentment of what people do. It can also cause us to believe we are better than them. Only God really knows a person’s heart and their intentions. God will be the righteous judge of them and not us. We have no right to be a hypocrite and notice the piece of dust in another person's eye and not even notice our own flaws and sinful condition.

On the other hand, God wants us to confront others who are sinning and tell them to stop and repent since if they continue to sin, they will suffer God’s judgment (Ecclesiastes 3:17, Luke 13:3). To get a better understanding of the different kinds of judgment and how Jesus teaches us not to abandon all of our critical discernment, read the devotional “Do We have the Right to Judge Others?”

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

You are the ultimate judge over everything. Please help us not to be hypocrites but to see our sin and to see others the way You see them. Give us the wisdom to know what we are doing is the same as others. Also, give us the courage to confront our loved ones of their sins and to tell them of the salvation in Christ to the person who repents and confesses Him as their savior. In His precious name we pray, Amen!