Matthew 7:1-3 -- On Thinking, Praying, and Seeing Clearly

"Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
Matthew 7:1-3


This is some good advice from God, even though it is hard.

I feel like a lot of it is how we take in information. When we think about a scripture, or a new idea, or even a criticism, we have a tendency to react too quickly, rejecting anything that seems like it could be painful or hard, and deflecting it instead.

Sometimes we deflect it into criticism or mockery of others, sometimes into just outright dismissal of the information, but because the information is triggering some defense mechanism in us, rarely do we step back, consider how it applies to us, and then act accordingly.

I think defense mechanisms like that are normal and understandable... I mean, no one wants to experience pain. The problem is that a lot of the time it causes us to adopt really bad habits in the way that we self-evaluate and in the way that we see others... and thus the reminder from God, which in essence is saying, hold on, take a step back. Remember patience and meekness. Think.

Today, let's consider how God's laws apply to ourselves before we attempt to apply them to others. Let's remember that our vision is obstructed when it comes to how we see ourselves, and let's take extra care and time when we run into other information as well, taking the time to think and pray and get God's perspective on how we should react and what we should learn. As we do, God will help us to learn and grow and see more clearly.