«Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye’, when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye» (Luke 6:42).
A young married couple moved to a new neighborhood. The next morning, while they were preparing breakfast, the husband told his wife: «Have you noticed our neighbors’ laundry on the line? Let’s just say that it isn’t very clean . . .
«Looking out the window, the wife nodded in agreement. From that day forward, the half-done neighbors’ laundry was a conversation point for the young couple. One morning, she was astonished when she saw the cleanliness and whiteness of their neighbors’ laundry.
She rushed to break the news to her husband:
«Come and see! Today they have clean laundry!
“Smiling and slightly shaking his head, he said,
«Yes, darling. Last night I cleaned our window panes.
«The self-esteem problems that psychologists encounter are usually found in those who have good qualities and are not able to see them. But there are also self-esteem problems that go in the other direction: those who are notable to see their own faults and limitations, but are very capable of identifying the faults in others, just like the couple in our story.
Jesus condemned this hypocritical attitude when He asked this question, “Why do you look at the speck that is our brother’s eye and you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?» Luke 6:41). The example clearly reflects the occupation of the Master from Nazareth: carpenter. The translation of the word «speck» matches the Greek term karfos, which can refer to a tiny sprig or a wood chip. Thus, we can see the contrast in size: from a tiny chip to a plank that supports great part of a building. What a discrepancy! The human being is frequently able to notice a speck of sawdust while not seeing a wooden beam.
Let’s place ourselves today in God’s hands so He can give us the understanding and wisdom not to judge others, because if we do so, most likely, the problem we see and judge others for can be found in us, and may even be magnified, “for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things” (Rom. 2:1).