By: Rigoberto Gomez Lopez
DO NOT JUDGE LEST YOU BE JUDGED, FIRST TAKE THE BEAM OUT OF YOUR EYE
Biblical text remove the plank from your eye:
Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, and fail to see the beam that is in your own eye? (Luke 6:41). We are told that to look at the speck, remove the plank from your eye.
In this passage of scripture we are told about two important aspects. The first is to remove the speck from our brother and the second is to remove the beam from our own eye (That is, remove the beam from your eye). The question is where should we start since we are attracted by the idea that when we see the speck in our brother’s eye, we should remove it as soon as possible.
Jesus Christ said take the plank out of your eye
Jesus Christ addressed this issue. He said that we had to remove the speck from our brother’s eye; however, he also mentioned that the beam had to be removed from our own eye first. That is, it is not wrong to remove the speck, but the requirement is first to remove the beam, which is why we are told “remove the beam from your eye.”
Remove the beam from your eye, because if we do not remove the beam that hinders our spiritual vision, then we will never be able to see with the necessary clarity to properly remove the straw from the eye of our brothers. We ourselves will be more blinded than they, for the beam is still blocking our vision.
Let us remember that the only way in which we can see our faults is through the word of God, because when we meditate on it in the midst of the context that we are living, we will realize if we are right or wrong before our God, or if our attitudes They are according to the word or will of God.
Get the plank out of your eye, let’s be doers of the word
Remove the log from your eye since the scripture says “For if anyone is a hearer of the word but not a doer of it, he is similar to a man who considers his natural face in a mirror. Because he considers himself, and leaves, and then forgets what he was like. But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, that of freedom, and perseveres in it, not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, he will be blessed in what he does ”(James 1: 23-25)
GET THE BEAM OUT OF YOUR EYE, THE WORD OF GOD WILL HELP US DO IT
Get the beam out of your eye
Get the beam out of your eye, we must be doers of the word to contemplate ourselves in it as in a mirror and not forget about it in order to correct our faults and be blessed. This word will make us see the beam that is in our eye and will push us to find how to remove it as soon as possible.
When we say remove the straw from the eye, straw comes from the Greek acuron and means “straw”, stem of the cereal plant from which the spike has been removed by threshing, and which has been broken in the process. The Greek karfos also means small dry straw, piece of dry stick (from karfo, to dry).
When we are told get the beam out of your eye, beam comes from the Greek dokos = beam, it is perhaps etymologically related to raí dek-, seen in the word decomai, to receive, since the beams are received by their ends in walls or pieces of wood.
This last term was used by the Lord Jesus Christ to note the difference or contrast between the brother’s straw and the beam of his own eye, that is, the great fault or vice.
CONNECTING THE STRAW AND THE BEAM TO “DO NOT JUDGE LEST YOU BE JUDGED”
Take the beam out of your eye… but also do not judge so as not to be judged
Many times when using the passage of the straw and the beam, this other verse is also used to avoid being judged. It is normally used when you are being questioned about something bad. We do not like to be judged and we can even appeal to others to remove the beam first; but remove the beam from your eye, because it is necessary to understand that God allows people to judge our actions in the light of the word of God.
The word judge comes from the Greek krino, which means to distinguish, decide, attempt, condemn, punish, avenge, conclude, curse, decree, determine, and estimate. We can understand that we should not condemn or punish unfairly, but we can discern between what is fair and what is unfair and judge.
Matthew 7:2 says: “For with the judgment with which you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure with which you measure, it will be measured to you”, that is, the problem is not judging or making judgment, the problem is being unfair in our judgments and not observe our own faults.
SOME TIPS ON JUDGING
Get the log out of your eye and follow the tips below
1) “…Do not judge anything before the time…” (1 Corinthians 4:5)
2) As the Lord’s church we must not go to trial before the unjust. This in relation to things that can be established within the church, otherwise, the situation can be taken to the higher authorities. (1 Corinthians 6:1-8)
3) “Do not judge according to appearances, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24)
4) “…You have judgments about things of this life…” (1 Corinthians 6:4)
5) “…Those who are without, God will judge…” (1 Corinthians 5:13)
6) “And do you think this, oh man, you who judge those who do so and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3)
7) Or do you not know that the saints are to judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you unworthy of judging very small things? Or do you not know that we are to judge the angels? How much more the things of this life? (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)
TAKE THE BEAM OUT OF YOUR EYE, BUT WE MUST ALSO TAKE THE SHAFT OUT
The speck must be removed, but first remove the beam from your eye.
We can have a beam or wood in our eye, but we see the speck in our brother’s eye and we want to remove it. We are clear that the speck must be removed, but we also understand that the beam must be removed first because “then he will be able to see clearly to remove the speck from his brother’s eye” (Luke 6:42); therefore he removes the beam from your eye, and then the speck from your brother’s eye.
So we should not justify the faults apparently less than those of others. We could say that our brother has a beam and that the straw is nothing for what the beam means, however, both the beam and the straw must be removed, problems or faults should not be minimized, however small they may seem, since they damage our spiritual life and fellowship within the church. Get the beam out of your eye, get the speck out too.
We all make mistakes, therefore, we should not offend or destroy in things that are apparently small, since the little foxes are the ones that make the vines waste (Song of Songs 2:15) and that a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6)
WE MUST ALSO REMOVE THE BEAM
Take the beam out of your eye, we must remove it
Let’s remember that both the straw and the beam can be in our eyes, but let’s not forget that the beam must be removed first. Get the beam out of your eye, there are things that cause even more havoc in our spiritual life and must be removed as soon as possible.
Sometimes we focus on small things but neglect more important things, it is necessary to meditate and remove what hinders us, remove the beam from your eye, starting with those things that are causing us the most damage and that prevent us from seeing God’s blessings .
Remember that the Pharisees ate mosquitoes and swallowed camels (Matthew 23:24). This is a good example of not removing the beam and wanting to remove the straw. We want to focus on the sins of others and put our own aside. Get the beam out of your eye, because we can make the mistake of cleaning the outside and leaving the inside dirty.
WE MUST PREVENT THE STRAW AND THE BEAM FROM DAMAGING OUR SPIRITUAL VISION
Get the beam out of your eye, get the speck out of your eye too.
A spiritual blindness can come into our life if we do not remove both the straw and the beam, therefore, we must try to solve this problem so that our spiritual vision is perfect seeing the invisible.
So let’s remove the beam from our own spiritual eye, because they are major infractions that harm us spiritually. In this way we can be able to help others remove the straw from their eye and be a blessing to others and our own soul. Get the beam out of your eye, get the speck out too. Blessings.