Thoughts With Dalt

“I can’t believe they lost by a field goal”, Dan said to his good friend Fred. “I know it. They led the whole game and blew it at the last second”, Fred replied. “Crazy”, Dan replied as he read another intimate text from a “work friend”. Fred saw the contents of the text message and asked, “Hey Dan, is your wife aware this is going on? I would imagine she wouldn’t be a fan of this”.

“Really, Fred? You think you are in a position to judge me?” Fred cowered down, embarrassed and replied, “No no no. I just remember what Pastor spoke on Sunday about holding our brothers accountable, and I was just trying…”.

Dan, standing and shaking at this point, yelled at Fred, “Trying to do what? Are we acting like you have no past with this issue? How about your gambling issue from earlier this year? Putting your house up for collateral? You still drinking yourself to sleep at night, or have you finally come to grips with the fact that your daughter will never talk to you again after the way you yelled at her at the reception last month? All of these issues, and you want to attack me for texting? Get out!”.

Whew. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were in Fred or Dan’s position? Both sides are common, and neither side is fun to be caught in. Why would Fred even bring up the issue? Why did Dan react the way he did?

Christianity in 2024 has gotten soft on accountability. Possibly one of the more misquoted and misunderstood Bible verses of the day is stated in a few different ways. “Don’t judge me!” “Only God can judge me!” Or possibly my least favorite, “You worry about you, and I’ll worry about me!”. Can you find a common thread in all of these responses? They all are shot from a defensive stance, and they all end with an exclamation point. (On paper and in real life!)

I assume the verse(s) being abused here are from a section found in the book of Matthew, chapter 7. Verse 1 states, “Judge not, that you be not judged”. Verse 3 rebukes us for looking at the speck in your brother’s eye but not considering the plank in your own eye. If that is how we read scripture, (pulling out single verses) then it is understandable that we develop several misunderstandings of what God was trying to say. Context is key. What is said prior to this? Who is talking, and who is addressed? What is said after this? What other scriptures agree or (seem to) disagree with what is said here? Let’s take a look.

We find ourselves in the midst of “The Sermon on the Mount”. Jesus is teaching to disciples and to a great crowd. (5:1-2, 7:28-29) The section we read is contained between verses 1 and 6 of chapter 7. This could be viewed as a “point” in a modern sermon. Jesus is addressing a few issues here. The main issue we will deal with is one of pride, and one of not being honest with yourself.

Verse 1 gives us a command and a reason for the command. If we judge others, we will be judged with the same judgement with which we judge others. This is an encouragement to remember that we are just as sinful as the next person. It is also a command to not make our life about “judging” others.

Verse 3 gets much more personal. “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not look at the plank in your own eye?”. Out of context, this verse is most likely from where the “you worry about you, and I’ll worry about me” rebuttal originates. However, there is more to the passage.

Verse 4 asks a question: How can you say to your brother “let me take the speck out of your eye” while there is a plank in your eye? This “how” is less of a how dare you and more of an encouraged realization. If you had a 2×4 lodged in your eye, you have 2 issues. Well, actually there are multiple issues in that situation….. for the sake of this discussion, lets look at two of them.

1. You are blinded by a personal issue
2. You can’t get close enough to the situation involving the speck to make a correct assessment, and you sure can’t help remove it.

Verse 5 presents a remedy to the problems created by the 2×4 protruding from your eye socket. Remove the plank before addressing the speck. Go read it for yourself. Just verses after commanding not to “judge”, Jesus himself instructs us on how to address the speck in our brother’s eye. The command is not, “worry about yourself, you sin enough”. There is a command to address your sin, then help others with theirs. This thought pairs perfectly with several other sections of scripture. Look them up to reinforce your conviction of it.

• Galatians 6:1-2
• Matthew 18:15-20
• Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
• James 5:19-20
• Luke 17:1-4

What was the issue with Fred and Dan earlier? Dan was caught in sin by Fred, who of course also has sin in his life. Naturally, Dan was offended by this. What changes would have made the conversation better between the two friends? Look back at verse 5. Fred had some “planks” in his eye from the past the obviously haven’t been addressed personally. We also don’t know Fred’s real intentions with what he said to Dan. Was he warning from experience and heart break, or was he trying to bring his friend down to his level? Misery loves company. Either way, Dan flew off the handle with his response. Being called on a sin is never an enjoyable event, regardless of how it is presented. No one wants to admit they are not perfect.

I am sure not perfect! I have had and will continue to have plenty of planks in my eye. By God’s grace, I will continue to address them. Something else I know is that some of those planks (and specks) in my eye will be revealed to me by those closest to me: My wife, my other family, and close friends. It has happened in my past, and it hurts initially. But I am so thankful for those hard conversations on this side of repentance.

I have also experienced people calling my sin in an effort to justify sin in their own life. Obviously, I am not defending that type of “judging”.

As I was wrapping up my time in college, the time came where I would clock out of my part-time job for the last time. An older coworker offered what may be the worst advice I have ever been given with his parting words to me. We had discussed God often, sometimes in a heated manner. He was catholic and had several believes that I opposed. Some aligned with the catholic church, some not so much. As I was walking out the door, he said, “You just remember this, ‘Follow your heart, not the Bible. It was written by imperfect men. Your heart will tell you the truth’ “.

I was flabbergasted, and could muster no response. I just walked out, mouth wide open, and drove my hour long drive home with no music or anything. For some reason, God did not give me a response at the time. I know now exactly how I would respond. Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

If our heart is deceitful and wicked, why would we ever trust it? Trusting in our heart would lead us into a life of constant, damning sin. “There is none who seeks after God” Romans 3:11. We need friends in our life that can see our actions objectively from their perspective, make a call that it is sinful, and bring it to our attention. We need to receive that rebuke and repent of our sin so that we will be able to do the same thing for them! What better way to love your neighbor than helping them to avoid sinning against the righteous Judge who WILL bring just punishment on sin one day! (2 Corinthians 5:10) I have heard “Only God can judge me” a few times throughout my life. It is 100% correct. It is also a terrifying reality.

What worse could you do to your friend/family than to watch them indulge in sin for a lifetime? Good trees do not bear bad fruit. If their tree is only bearing bad fruit, there is a harsh reality you need to consider and lovingly address.

Here is my admonition for the week.

• Take a minute. Ask God to reveal your sin. It’s there, I promise. It will hurt. Always does for me.
• Think back to someone that revealed your sin to you. How did you respond? Were they right? Do you need to ask their forgiveness and thank them for the love they showed you?
• Once you have cleared your plate (for now), go love your neighbor and encourage them as they struggle through sin. Relate with them in your sin, and pray with them through theirs. This will greatly increase sanctification in all parties involved
• Be more open to someone showing you your own sin. Ultimately, whether they are doing it out of love, or out of spite, it is for your good!

Thanks for making it through! I hope this helps you in some way. If so, would you mind sharing it with someone? A like, comment, or share will help spread the conversation, and that’s my goal.

Go love your neighbor, even if its initially uncomfortable!

See you next week!

-Dalton

1 Corinthians 5:9-11