Bible Reading: Luke 6:37-42.
Tonight’s Bible reading is about judgement, assumptions and the importance of looking at ourselves before we judge others.
An assumption is something we accept as true without necessarily having all the facts or evidence. It can be very easy to follow the views of those around us, particularly when people are angry, looking for someone to blame or seeking revenge. Yet the teaching of Jesus reminds us to be careful that we do not condemn others without understanding the whole picture.
Over recent weeks, I have been looking at how closely the teachings contained within the Scriptures come together. We have considered our relationship with Christ and the idea that we are all connected as one body. We have looked at faith – faith in God, faith in ourselves and faith in others. We have also considered temptation, our weaknesses and the danger of false prophets.
All these themes are interconnected, and tonight’s reading from the Gospel according to Luke brings several of them together.
Do Not Judge and You Will Not Be Judged
Jesus tells us:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
For me, the Bible is about us and our journey through life here on Earth. I think Scripture becomes particularly valuable when we consider its teachings in relation to our own experiences and the way we live our lives.
That is how we learn, develop and improve.
One of the difficulties with judging another person is that we rarely know the whole story. We may know some of the facts, but there will often be gaps in our understanding. Human nature can lead us to fill those gaps with assumptions, and those assumptions can then become the basis of an unfair judgement.
When we do this, we risk committing the very injustice against which the reading warns us.
The Blind Leading the Blind
Jesus illustrates this lesson with the parable of the blind leading the blind:
“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?”
I believe the blindness referred to here can be understood as our inability to see the whole picture. If we try to guide or judge someone else without sufficient understanding, we may both be led in the wrong direction.
Jesus continues by explaining that a student is not above the teacher, but that everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.
There is an important lesson here. Before we attempt to instruct or correct another person, we should make sure that we ourselves have learnt and understood what is required of us.
The Speck and the Plank
Jesus then gives us one of the best-known illustrations in the New Testament:
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
It is a powerful image because it asks us to examine ourselves before finding fault with someone else.
How easy is it to notice another person’s mistakes while overlooking our own?
Jesus teaches that we should first remove the plank from our own eye. Only then will we be able to see clearly enough to help remove the speck from our brother’s eye.
I believe the reference to our “brother” should be understood in the widest possible sense. It is not simply about our immediate family. It is about our brotherhood and sisterhood with all people. Understanding it in this way opens the teaching to the whole of humanity.
Judgement and Understanding
When we hear the word judgement, we may think of a judge sitting in a court of law. Even within a court, considerable effort is made to establish the facts. Evidence is examined, different arguments are heard and, in many cases, a jury discusses the evidence before reaching a verdict.
Even with those safeguards, the aim can only be to reach the fairest possible decision based upon the evidence available.
In our everyday lives, we rarely have anything approaching that amount of information about another person’s circumstances. Yet we can sometimes reach conclusions about people very quickly.
Tonight’s reading challenges us not to do that.
It does not mean that we should ignore wrongdoing or never distinguish between right and wrong. Rather, I believe the teaching is that we should not condemn another person from a position of incomplete knowledge or self-righteousness.
Instead, we should approach others with understanding, forgiveness and brotherly love, helping one another towards a better path where we can.
The Measure We Use
There is another important message within this passage:
“For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
The way we treat other people matters.
If we approach others with harsh judgement, condemnation and assumptions, we should perhaps ask whether we would want to be treated according to that same standard.
But if we approach people with forgiveness, generosity and understanding, we create something very different.
Jesus tells us to give, and it will be given to us in good measure – pressed down, shaken together and running over.
For me, that brings us back to the wider message running through these readings. Our spiritual journey is not simply about what we believe. It is also about how we treat one another and how honestly we are prepared to examine ourselves.
Before judging another person, perhaps we should first ask whether we really know the whole story.
Before pointing towards the speck in somebody else’s eye, perhaps we should look for the plank in our own.
And rather than condemning one another, we can choose forgiveness, understanding and brotherly love.
God bless.
This article was drafted with Chat GPT AI from a transcript of Peter’s bible reading. Edited by Humans. Featured image created by Chat GPT.
