Blind Opthamologists

May 6, 2018

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” There is probably no more well known Scripture than this verse from Matthew 7:1. Secular people who know nothing about the Bible can quote this in perfect Elizabethan English, and do so quite often if a Christian expresses an opinion that challenges certain behaviors that are popular in the world at large. Jesus’ point is however, usually misconstrued by both the Christian and the unbeliever, although in different ways.

Jesus is not forbidding the exercise of good judgement in our conduct and speech. After all, he did tell us that “by their fruits you shall know them.” In other words, exercise judgment in your relationships. 

He followed these words with his advise to remove the log in our own eye before trying to remove a tiny splinter in someone else’s eye. The other day, we were at our grandson’s first baseball game of the season. Sitting next to me was a young family. At some point, the little girl in the family had gotten something in her eye. She cried and danced, and the entire time her parents were trying to remove the offending matter, she was hollering, “Don’t touch me!” Getting something in our eye is painful and dangerous. Leaving it there is not an option. But if an ophthalmologist is operating on my eye, I want to be sure he or she sees clearly. 

People get all kinds of spiritual splinters in their eyes. Behaviors and habits that are destructive blind people to the life and vision God intends us to have. But the process of removing these irritations can be painful, and people howl if we try to do it. Jesus isn’t telling us to leave people in their misery. He is saying that before we try to help them, we need to see clearly ourselves. We can be blind to our own issues that are often variations of what we see in others. Blind eye doctors the world does not need or want.

Spiritual eye surgery is painful, but necessary. Christians ought not back away from it. But we had better be sure that we ourselves are seeing clearly; that we are not suffering from a blindness as bad or worse than those to whom we seek to minister. 

Tonight I am thankful for the extra thought I am forced to give the Scriptures from which I preach. I have read this text many times and not seen the fullness of what Jesus is saying. Preaching requires that I dig in hard and keep looking at the text. Doing so gives God a chance to speak to me that I otherwise would not give him. I preach not so much for those to whom I speak on Sunday mornings. I preach to myself first, because I need it the most.