TAKE THE LOG THAT IS IN YOUR OWN EYE

TAKE OFF THE LOG THAT IS IN YOUR OWN EYE

37“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

38give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

39He also told them a parable:

“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

41Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

42How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

LUKE 6:37-42

COMMENTARY

Continuing with the teachings of the Beatitudes and others, our Lord Jesus also taught us to have honesty and purity of heart, even in the act of recognizing and condemning evil at all times.

On that occasion he told his hearers that they should not freely judge or condemn anyone, lest they themselves be equally judged and condemned; but rather practicing generosity and good faith, with everyone, in the symbolic words of 'Give a good measure, squeezed and overflowing', because 'With the measure we judge, we will be judged'.

Did the Lord Jesus mean by this that we should not comment in the face of sin and that we should let it exist with impunity?

Should we remain silent in the face of injustice, abuse and corruption at all levels?

No way.

Scripture teaches us to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14) and even to use this discernment in daily community living by settling disputes and misunderstandings among other members of the Christian community (1Corinthians 6:2-3).

He also charges us to denounce sin, whether it is privately personal (Matthew 18:15; 1John 5:16), or publicly if it is stubborn or communal (Matthew 18:17; Galatians 5:19-21; 2Timothy 3:1- 5).

But what the Lord teaches us here is not to harshly condemn the person who commits the sin.

When he speaks to us about not judging or condemning, the Lord Jesus refers to not assuming the reasons why the sinner does what he does, nor mercilessly condemning him without giving opportunity to the sinner for repentance.

An example is, not accusing a homosexual of depravity, and pushing him out of our company and humiliating him because of his conduct. The same with adulterers and pedophiles, and any other sin, however serious it may be.

We must recognize in this case that homosexuality and pedophilia are sin, yes; and talk about it in private if it is a particular person, or denounce it in public if it is a greater chain of public corruption, proven that in private they do not repent; but even in the case of stubborn sinners, we must not hate them, or despise them, or treat them with disdain; but being aware that those who live like this, in sin, even in degeneration and in promoting chain corruption, such as drug traffickers or white slavers, are all human beings blinded under the power of Satan, enslaved to evil, uncapable to break those chains that bind them to bad living by themselves

(John 8:34; Romans 6:6; 1John 3:8).

When Jesus speaks to us about 'giving a tight and overflowing measure', he refers, not to a commercial transaction, but to the tolerant heart of the Christian, who is aware that his own justice does not lie in his own natural goodness, but in the mercy of Jesus, who with his vicarious death in our favor, forgave us of our sins, whatever they may be, even when they may not be as 'bad' or notorious as murder or prostitution, and therefore is compassionate and patient with those who have not yet broken the chains of evil

And we know even more, that this proceeding, of giving more than expected, (overflowing measure), is because it is to be expected that the world without God will be harsh with these sinners, but whoever has known God knows that it is not a matter of secular practice or education or even choice.

Sin, without God, is impossible to overcome, and the only solution is to be 'Born Again' (John 3:3), of water and of the Spirit, when with adult and conscious Faith and Repentance, we become aware of our own sins, and we make an act of consecration to Jesus for all eternity, promising to live under his command forever.

It is receiving the Holy Spirit within us, which gives us the desire and strength to resist and defeat evil forever.

For this reason, also the Lord Jesus spoke to us about the man who, having a beam in his eye, condemns and recriminates under the pretense of correction, the bad behavior of another man.

The warning to first remove the log from our own eye, is to be aware of our state, and the place of the Grace of God, to which we owe every good thing in us, and thus consider with tolerance and Christian charity the fallen situation of another human being.

Omar Flores.