Series on the Mount
Log Off
Matthew 7:3-5
September 16, 2007
Last week we look at the need for discernment of right and wrong. We saw how Jesus wants to tread cautiously when judging others being careful not to condemn them. We look at the context of judging that we are to refrain from judging others religiously and we need to make sure that if we judge others, we judge ourselves with the same standard. Something that is incredibly difficult to do.
This week we want to look at the next three verses that further clarify what Jesus is communicating. Matthew’s Jesus is very much concerned with the religious leaders who judge and condemn others to either oppress them (as Matthew’s community probably experienced) or to elevate themselves (which is usually done at the expense of those below especially the poor). Jesus reinforces the idea of his Shema that we are to love God and love others and that when we fail to love others to remain religious or pure or clean or in good standing, then we have failed to obey God and have broken God’s law even though we thought we were keeping it.
The story is told of a young man who had just started his new job in the produce department of a grocery store, when a woman came up to him asking to buy a half head of lettuce.
As politely as he could, the young man said that “In this store, we don’t sell half heads of lettuce, we sell whole heads of lettuce.” The lady was remarkably persistent—obnoxiously so. And so in the end, he did what any young produce department grocery store lad would do, and said, “Well, let me go talk to the manager.”
The young man shuffles off to find the manager in the back of the store, not realizing that the woman is following him some distance behind. He gets to the manager, and says in frustration, “I’ve got this crazy old woman out there who wants to buy a half head of lettuce.
Seeing the look of consternation on his manager’s face, the lad realizes all of a sudden that the woman is standing right behind him. He turns and quick as a whip and says, “And this nice lady wants to buy the other half.”
Later that day, the manager complimented him on his very quick thinking, and in the course of the conversation said to the young man, “Where do you come from, where is your home?” “Well,” said the young man, “I’m from Toronto, home of beautiful hockey players and ugly women.” The manager’s face dropped once again as he said, “I’ll have you know, my wife is from Toronto.” Quick as a whip the young man turned around and said, “And what hockey team did you say she plays on?”
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ’Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Now the New American Standard Bible says to take the log out your own eye. I tend to like the word “log” over plank because plank implies a piece of processed wood and log is actually a little closer to the context. I mentioned last week about what I call the log principle and this is where I get it from.
Log Principle – if something or someone bothers me a lot then there is something in me that I need to examine. Usually if I am upset or perturbed or irritated by someone then most likely it is because I have that same character defect or tendency or sinful nature in me. And if it bothers me so, then I have really dealt with it. For when I deal with those things and examine myself I become more tolerant of others.
However, I have found a general exception. Sometimes there things that I react so strongly to not because there is a tendency in me but because I have strong emotional connection to the issue. The biggest example for me personally is sexual abuse of children. My parents were social workers in the child welfare system and even though I was spared the details because of confidentiality, somehow I inherited a sensitivity to the issue. As a pastor, I have seen the lifelong scars. I have heard the anguish of its victims and honestly the perpetrators infuriate me. But I would not have discovered this about and why I react the way that I do without applying Jesus’ instructions here. Jesus is teaching his followers to do moral self-examinations.
Self-Examination
Get the log out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly (both yourself and others).
• Moral
A follower of Jesus needs to ask the hard questions of his or herself. Take close look at yourself and become self-aware. Who you are? Who God has created you to be? What things have shaped you?
Have I acted selfishly?
Have I truly been loving to others?
Have I prejudged anyone? Who do I tend to prejudge?
Have I sought out to contribute to society?
What actions have hurt others?
What do I need to do to make amends?
“You hypocrites!” Jesus declares. Without a moral inventory and without knowledge of ourselves we are just play acting—hypocrites. We look good on the outside and looks like we have our act together. But we don’t. None of us really do. This is what faith is really about. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know what is best all the time and probably if we were honest hardly at all. But God does. And He is a great, big God! He knows all and is all powerful.
• Retreat
I have become convinced why many so called Christians never get it, so to speak, they never really change and stay stuck in the muck and mire of their past is that they never have been told to nor how to take a total life reflective inventory of their life and past. We just pray for Jesus to forgive us and then go right back to doing what we have always done. If you do what you always done, the way that you have always done it, then you will always get what you have always gotten.
Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way expecting different results.
This is the examination of oneself and determining to change what goes against the way of Jesus. I with God’s help (and other people’s as we will see) seek to remove those things that get in the way of serving God and loving others.
Ignatius of Loyola advocated a 28 day retreat and examination (he lived hundreds of years ago). Most of us can’t get away for 28 days but we can take a weekend retreat or just take a few hours a week to work on this one time examination.
• Daily
You can begin this right now. Each day asking God to show you your faults and examining the previous day’s events. This can be started now but certainly is helped after you have made a detailed examination of your past discovering the patterns of behavior and perhaps some of your inert motivations for why you do what you do. Then of course asking God to help you change. Even looking ahead to the next day’s events or this week’s upcoming challenges that you might want to especially be on your guard. For example if you have a meeting with a client that is especially irritating, what might you want to do to prayerfully prepare yourself and be wary of so that your buttons don’t get pushed.
• Confession
Telling someone your faults has been a long practiced Christian tradition including the reminder that if one is in Christ and one is seeking forgiveness and willing to turn from those ways then one is forgiveness. You don’t need a pastor or preacher to do this. Just someone who you are comfortable with and you can trust to keep your trash confidential.
If someone asks you to be their confessor, remember confidentiality and that you are not to give advice, judge, or criticize. Simply listen and encourage them to take the next steps of forgiving oneself and/or making amends. Bless them and remind them of God’s grace.
Entering the Kingdom
• Grace is realized.
We see it evident in our lives and evident in others. It is not just something that we understand. We experience it. And we are able to extend this grace to others. Grace doesn’t mean that we never have to work for God. It just means that we can’t earn God’s favor through the work that we do (as in work out our salvation).
• Humility is realized.
We realize that I’m really not that important after all. We realize that the gift of life that I have been given (including my abilities, time, resources, and money) is wasted unless I pour into others. We realize that self-indulgences not only affect ourselves but they affect others because they limit our ability to give. This in turn helps us realize that my community does have a claim on me. I am responsible to my community.
• We are less likely to immediately judge, criticize, and condemn.
We are less likely to jump to conclusions and make assumptions. So we dialogue. Listen and learn seeking to understand the other and further understand ourselves. When this happens we just might be able to finally hear what it is that God is saying to us. Basically when we can get the logs out of our eyes, we understand the lenses through which we see the world.
• We lose our sharp edges.
We all have armor that keeps us safe and keeps others out. We also have tears in that armor where we’ve been hurt. Self-examination helps us see beyond those wounds. Grace helps us smooth over those rough spots so that those character defects aren’t so glaring. It helps us look past the rough edges in others.
