In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a very specific instruction when it comes to judging others. This is advice for everything, but it is especially important for pastors and leaders as if they do not judge people properly that can destroy the culture of an entire church, and even split a church. Here is the advice:
7 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.[b]
3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,[d] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 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.
Matthew 7.1-5, NLT
What did Jesus tell us to do FIRST? How can we put first things first here? We have to GET RID OF THE LOG IN OUR OWN EYE FIRST. That’s the rule. That’s the principle. Get rid of the log in your eye first.
Specks are the sins of the people around you. Sometimes it is sinners coming into your church, and their lifestyle is just selfish and disruptive. Sometimes it is Christians in your church failing to live for God, stabbing you in the back, and acting in ways that don’t help anyone. Sometimes other ministers will lie about you and stab you in the back, sometimes people will abandon you. These things are not serious, they are just specks.
What is a log here is the presumption that you have the right qualifications and position to stand in God’s sinless shoes and judge that person. That’s the log. When someone stands in that position rather than loving and restoring people, then that someone has a log in their eye.
Now we are supposed to judge others. We are supposed to in love and with kindness and patience, tell others “hey, I can help you get that out of your eye, I can help you live above this”, that is part of spiritual leadership, but FIRST get yourself out of the JUDGE’S CHAIR, and love them and help them find their way to freedom with an examined heart. It’s that simple.
Jesus says if you do not do this, you are a hypocrite, a word that means an actor. You are just a play-pastor, not genuinely helping people. Once you work on the log of standing in the judge’s shoes, you are in a position to help people get the sin out of their life. But first things first!
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