Matthew 7:1-5

In today’s reading, Jesus teaches us not judge others.  If we judge others, we too will be judged.  He gives an analogy of someone with a large chunk of wood in their eye noticing a tiny splinter in someone else’s eye.  He says to remove our own chunks of wood first before we start judging others, that is, he asks us to look to our own shortcomings first. 

In some cases it is easier for us to see the wisdom of not judging others. It might be easy for me to overlook someone stealing my groceries because they are hungry. In other cases, we may find it hard not to judge – if someone through their actions starts a war, takes food from the poor, incarcerates innocent people. How do we grapple with this teaching not to judge? 

Martin Luther King wrote, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail).  Here Jesus is teaching about that self-purification step that clears the vision, and “then you will see more clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).