Old Testament: Genesis 15 & 16
Poetry: Psalm 5
New Testament: Matthew 7:1-12
If Sarai of Genesis 16 was my neighbor or Bible study partner or worse, my daughter-in-law, I’m not sure I would like her much. There is the big problem of Sarai sending her maidservant Hagar to sleep with her husband Abram. Perhaps, with a bit of study I could accept this as a cultural Canaanite tradition which was indeed an effective way of fulfilling God’s first command to Adam and Eve: Be fruitful and increase in number (Genesis 1:27). It gets trickier to do this God’s way when there are more than two people on earth, but still no law. In fairness to Sarai, she did not have the benefit of God’s law yet as she was born hundreds of years before Moses. But, even if I were to give her grace and excuse her from that act, there is the whole problem with her attitude and overall mean spirit. Even when her plan works out as she had orchestrated, she quickly casts blame on her husband and mistreats/abuses Hagar. Not a pretty picture, Sarai.
I am glad I am so much better. I would never impatiently try to help God give me blessings in my own way not His. You would never find me blaming my husband. And I have certainly never ever mistreated – anyone. Well, probably not enough to make them run away into the desert.
Maybe, I am exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7 when he begins, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (vs 1-2). Unfortunately, the world has heard just the first three words, “Do Not Judge” and has twisted Jesus’ words into permission to sin and accept sin. But that is not the case! Jesus tells us over and over again (and even multiple times in this same chapter) to look carefully and judge whether people and actions and ideas are good or bad, righteous or wicked, wise or foolish, innocent or dangerous, taking us closer to God or further from Him. He warns you and I about the wolf in sheep’s clothing who wants to deceive you and figurative dogs and pigs that will tear you to pieces. And if you have already decided that it is not your place to judge if they are good or evil or to discern if they want what is good and godly for you or what will destroy you, then I fear you are already sitting in a very dangerous spot.
So, what did Jesus mean when he started out with the words, “Do not Judge…or you too will be judged” and then gave the excellent illustration of the speck and the plank? Make sure you read it for yourself from Matthew 7. I think he was saying judge yourself first in order to be helpful in then spotting sin in others. Specks are hard to see clearly when we have a plank lodged in our eye socket. And our restored sight is crucial in then being able to delicately help our neighbor remove the irritating speck in their eye. When we judge rightly we can start out by putting every single one of us in the sorry sinking boat of sinners in need of a Savior – and make sure you jump into that boat first. Stop bad talking and blaming the neighbors and church members and see yourself for what you are and what you do. Don’t sugar-coat the truth trying to make yourself look better than the rest.
I am no better than Sarai. I have been quick to blame my husband and my kids and my friends, when the fault was more with me. I have mistreated people, sometimes to their face, sometimes behind their back. And I have tried to ‘fix’ things my way rather than patiently trusting God for what He said He would do in His time. I can be very selfish and prideful and rude. And the list goes on. And if I don’t accept and work to correct these problems and sins in myself FIRST then I will be hypocritical and ineffective when I, with that plank still stuck in my eye, turn to help my neighbor who has a speck in her eye.
Jesus was not saying specks and planks are okay and we should leave them be. Sin is not okay. He was telling us the order in which to judge and correct – self first SO THAT you can actually be useful in helping others recognize and remove the sins that are affecting their sight and health and well-being. Sin surgery for yourself first. Recognize it for what it is and get it out! Then look with compassion not contempt on the Sarais and Hagars and neighbors of the world, some of whom do not even know God’s law and have no idea they are stuck in evil because they only heard “Do Not Judge” and never heard the rest.
-Marcia Railton
Reflection Questions
- When you honestly look at yourself what sins do you find? How can you work at removing them? What roles do Jesus and God’s word play in surgery to remove sin?
- When you encounter sinful stories how can you respond less like a hypocrite and more like “The God who sees me” that Hagar experienced in the desert in Genesis 16?
- What is the problem with not judging what you see around you?
- How does Matthew 7:12 relate to the “Do not Judge” part of Matthew 7? In what other situations is it wise to live by Matthew 7:12?
Seek Grow Love 