Wednesday, July 13, 2022

“It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.” (Luke 6: 41 -42, The Message Bible)

                No logs or specks in these hazel eyes.

                I had my routine, yearly eye exam yesterday. I had tests for eye pressure, glaucoma, macular degeneration (it runs in the family), cataracts, etc. My optometrist put drops in my eyes and took long looks through his gizmos to determine what condition my eyes were in. I am happy to report that my peepers are in very good health. No changes really over the last few years. Cataracts have begun to form but they have not significantly grown over the years. I can see clearly.

                I can see you. Can you see me?

                Which brings us to our text above. The more familiar version has to do with logs and specks. “How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Jesus is masterful at sharp, insightful hyperbole.

                Have you ever noticed that, sometimes, we will criticize someone for something that we do ourselves? For example, we might accuse someone of someone being thin-skinned when we ourselves are also thin-skinned. I once challenged a senior woman in one of my churches who was always acerbic, out-spoken, critical and bossy. She was riming out a deacon for some small petty thing she thought he should gave done. I had just preached on loving our neighbour. I stepped between them and asked her if she had listened at all to the sermon. You know what they say – fools step in where angels fear to tread. She was highly offended and ran to another deacon to complain about my intervention. She could dish  it out but couldn’t take it.

                It doesn’t take much to be judgmental, critical, disapproving, censorious when looking at someone’s else’s faults. This is not to say that others don’t have any faults, but Jesus is right when he says that we need to do some honest self-assessment before we go about trying to correct other people which, to be honest, often means to make others conform to our personal satisfaction and bidding.

                I have had plenty of logs in my own eyes sometimes over my life and career. Not liking people who are short-tempered but can be short-tempered myself is one good example. Stubbornness is another one. I could build a log-cabin by the time I would be done.

                I like the Message Bible’s interpretation here about smudges and sneers. We are experiencing a culture in which contempt for others is leading to a tidal wave of judgement, selfishness, intolerance,  bigotry,  narrow-mindedness, and even hatred and violence. It is indeed this “I-know-better-than-you” attitude that is as toxic as air-pollution is to the environment.

                Jesus always set his face against the sin of judgment. His command is quite simple and direct. There is no fudging it. “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier.”  (Luke 6: 37, The Message Bible)

                Let us give each other the benefit of the doubt, the benefit of charity, the benefit of forgiveness, the benefit of love, the benefit of grace.

                I can see you; can you see me?

 Dale