The Warning
1] Judge not, that you be not judged. 2] For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
The Reality
3] Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4] Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
The Resolution
5] You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Notes
The headings are my own. This passage can also be found in Luke 6:37-42. Luke's account is a bit more graphic and offers further insight into Jesus' sermon. There is a little discrepancy between the two books about the location where the sermon took place. It could be possible that they are each referring to a separate sermon... one articulating the lesson a little better. Or, Luke could have gotten more information about the sermon when he conducted his research. Regardless, for the sake of this discussion, we will be focusing on Matthew.
This discussion began with befuddled2 at his blog
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I try to never miss an opportunity to study with different people... and, based on things he has written in various places, he is someone I could probably learn from. The following was transferred from his site to move the discussion here.
befuddled2: “As for the plank – my take is that it is a saying illustrating that the person who criticizes often has a more serious problem than the person he/she is critcizing.”
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I will agree that this is one thing that could be implied. It certainly has that familiar quip-like catchyness that could be easily dismissed as a platitude today. But why would the person that's criticizing, or judging (to keep it consistent with the passage), have a far more serious problem? The way its stated, it definitely seems like there's ALWAYS a bigger issue in our own eye. Any thoughts?
Seems like my comment has gone missing for whatever reason. Which might be just as well since I came back to add to it. Now it can all be in one comment instead of two.
ReplyDeleteI would not say that the meaning is that the person doing the criticizing has a bigger issue than the person being criticized. Rather I take it as a warning to look to yourself first and take care of your issues before you start to go into others.
If you look at the whole context of this passage - which would include Matthew 5 and 6 as well as 7 - you find several sections that would fall under this general warning.
It is a recognition that all people - including, hard as it may be to believe, yours truly - have a tendency to rush into judgement. That as our assurance and confidence in our own beliefs and rectitude increase our tendency to judge without thought, to criticize without examination also increases. That we need to slow down and examine what we are doing first - especially in matters concerning the criticizing and judgement of others. If not, then our problem is greater than those we are criticizing due to our hubris.
Bah, sorry about a previous comment if it disappeared. Blogger is apparently having issues, but its an easy tool for things like this.
ReplyDeleteGood points, all of them. Not only is this a theme of this particular sermon series, but it seems to be one of Jesus' primary missions. We have to remember who his audience was, and is today. There were 2 sons in the story Jesus told about the prodigal son [Luke 15], both of which were lost... the obvious young one, of course, but the older one really seems to carry the message to the Pharisees. The older brother couldn't even go in from field to experience closeness with his family because of his apparent self-righteousness. The father nailed it by reassuring the older bro that he recognizes the son's obedience and he is still going to receive all of the fortune, hinting that his heart was on "keeping the commands" and "receiving reward" rather than the mere closeness with his father. He was just as lost, but didn't know it. The sad part is while the younger is brought back into the family by grace, the story ends with the older bro standing outside the house. Good stuff.
I guess what I'm trying to explore, personally, is "why?" I get what you're saying about it not being one "log"... my wife also looks at it as just sort of implying the sum total of our issues weighing heavier than the "speck" we're judging... But that tends to run into conflict with the resolution part of the Matthew 7. Why the fool's errand? If we can't possibly shed our issues, why waste the ink?
I read in your bio that you had an academic background in psychology. That's why I'm loving your take on this. Your last paragraph is getting good. :D
"That as our assurance and confidence in our own beliefs and rectitude increase our tendency to judge without thought, to criticize without examination also increases." -- That certainly applies to the prodigal parable. But, why was the older brother's anger and self-righteousness a bigger obstacle to overcome than the younger brother's foolishness? Why the hubris? Why the log?
If it is just as simple as the general theme of the passage, why after 2000 years are we still struggling with it? I think we can all understand that theme because it probably "rings true" with our perception of human nature. So, why can't we beat it? If we all KNOW we do that, then why do we do that? :D
Could the source of hubris be an attempt to cope with feelings of inadequacy? Is that too much of a contradiction?
Have tried several times to post a comment on your reply to me but have been unable to. Keep getting unable to post message. Very strange.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, hopefully fourth time is charm. I am trying to change my "Comment as" from Befuddled2 to Bad Atheist since I keep getting message it could not verify my source.
I think your issue here is revealed in your question:
“If we can’t possibly shed our issues, why waste the ink?”
You seem to assume that we can once and for all shed the issue. However in my experience that is not the way it works.
We may work beyond this problem for a particular issue and for a particular problem and at a particular time, but it is a part of our nature to make judgments such as these passages warn about and these issues will continually crop up unless we remain continually aware of it.
It is not something that we can excise out or our nature. It is too deeply rooted in our natures (and does serve a good purpose at times) and cannot be gotten rid of without changing all of human nature. Instead it is something that we need to be aware of and by that awareness continually work to correct.
Almost forgot to comment on your last sentence. The source of the hubris is not feelings of inadequacy. Rather it lies in the fact that we often have to make decisions based on too little information and often have to make them quickly. Because of that we have developed, through evolution and culture, a tendency to pronounce judgments too quickly even in situations that allow us time to fully research and think through positions.
In other words this same trait that can be a problem in many circumstances can also be a benefit in others.
Gosh, I don't know. I was just trying not to waste a bunch of time setting this up, but I don't want it to be a hassle.
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Shedding issues - I agree with you, with one further exception. We can get past an issue for a period, though we have natural human tendencies that *require training to overcome. I think we can train ourselves positively and negatively to almost any end. Maybe that's what you mean with "unless we remain continually aware of it" and "by that awareness continually work to correct."
I like...
"The source of the hubris is not feelings of inadequacy. Rather it lies in the fact that we often have to make decisions based on too little information and often have to make them quickly."
That takes it from being rooted in *feelings of inadequacy, straight to inadequacy. Our finite assessment tends to be inadequate for making solidly wise judgment. That reminds me of Adam and Even immediately after they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil [Genesis 3:7-11].
You can almost sense the panic Adam felt in the revelation that he and Eve were naked. They quickly covered themselves the best they could with their limited clothing knowledge and abilities. Even then, it was inadequate cover for them. They hid themselves from God and still claimed they were naked.
With a little wise judgment, Adam and Eve were adequately clothed in animal skins, by God.
I think you're dead on with...
"Because of that we have developed, through evolution and culture, a tendency to pronounce judgments too quickly even in situations that allow us time to fully research and think through positions."
One thing I realized, though... this whole time we've sort of assumed the judgment is conducted with all sinister motives. The warning about judgment is... just that. It also says "the measure you use it will be measured to you."
What if our inadequate judgment is pronounced with all the best intentions? Are our intentions what is being measured, or is it strictly our righteous/unrighteous judgment that we're accountable for? It seems like the damage of being inadequate would still be inflicted, but what does that mean for us?
Could the judgment we pronounce on others cause a direct self-judgment, psychologically?(for lack of a better word)
The reason I ask is this... for example... My wife used to be ridiculously critical of other people's house-keeping. She would incessantly point out to me all kinds of shortcomings. Then, she would go into a frantic cleaning frenzy any time we had friends or family over. And, if someone stopped by unexpectedly, she would practically have a nervous breakdown and get consumed in a anxiety-driven, crippling panic. Was she bringing all of this own herself because of how critical she was of others?
And, if so... Did Adam and Eve bring on their own guilt-and-fear-fueled hiding because they unrighteously judged each others' nakedness?
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I believe that you have made a leap that is not fully warrented in part of your response:
ReplyDelete"The source of the hubris is not feelings of inadequacy. Rather it lies in the fact that we often have to make decisions based on too little information and often have to make them quickly."
That takes it from being rooted in *feelings of inadequacy, straight to inadequacy. Our finite assessment tends to be inadequate for making solidly wise judgment."
Your statement that our "finite assessment tends to be inadequate for making solidly wise judgment.' seems to take what I had posited as a sometime event and made it into an always or almost always event. I do not believe it is.
I believe that we often do make solidly wise judgments even with our finite abilities. They often are enough, especially when we allow ourselves enough time to think it through.
Even those judgments made quickly can often be correct. They just have a higher chance of failure.
In regards to:
"What if our inadequate judgment is pronounced with all the best intentions? Are our intentions what is being measured, or is it strictly our righteous/unrighteous judgment that we're accountable for? It seems like the damage of being inadequate would still be inflicted, but what does that mean for us?"
Please keep in mind that I am an atheist and do not believe that we are being judged or measured at all. Nor do I believe that this behavioral tendency has any meaning other than that we can be wrong, especially when we do not take the time to adequately research and consider the evidence. This can harm us in that we make a wrong decision and it can harm others in that we make wrong decisions on how to treat them, but I do not believe that there is any meaning or consequence beyond this - especially of a theological type.
As for your wife's behaviors, I would guess (and given my almost total lack of information that is all that it is) that this is the result more of upbringing than anything else.
The roots of behaviors can lie in many soils and still form part of the same tree.
My - that sounds so deep... and pretentious. NOt sure if I like it or not.
However whether I like or not what I am saying is that the same behaviors can be the results of very different causes. A simple example would be going outside in the morning and seeing that the street is wet. That could be the result of a street cleaner coming by, the result of someone being too enthusiastic about watering their yard or it could be the result of rain. Different causes - same results.