Wooden Beam In Your Eye

Do you have a wooden beam in your eye? If you literally had a wooden beam in your eye, you would not need me to ask you if you had one in your eye: you would know. However, most of us walk around with a metaphorical wooden beam in our eye. We see and focus on the faults of others, yet we don’t see our own. We judge the intentions and hearts of our brothers and sisters while we ignore the filth that festers in our hearts. We are the hypocrites that Jesus calls us in today’s Gospel.

Wooden Beam In Your Eye

Gospel - Matthew 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged,

and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother,

'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,'

while the wooden beam is in your eye?

You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

then you will see clearly

to remove the splinter from your brother's eye."

Scriptural Analysis

Jesus warns against judging other people. This passage is one whose meaning is often misunderstood. Jesus is not telling people that they can’t judge actions, whether or not a particular action is sinful according to God’s law. That is certainly permissible and reasonable. Instead, Jesus forbids us from judging and condemning the heart. We cannot understand the intentions behind another’s actions, nor can we determine how culpable they are for their actions. That depends on their level of moral and religious formation.

Additionally, humans tend to make generalizations about a person’s character based on a particular transgression. This kind of behavior is unacceptable. The Christian is not called to pass judgment upon those who fall. We are not to do this publicly in the presence of others, nor privately in our own hearts and minds. Judging our brothers and sisters is not only harmful to those relationships, but it is also harmful to our relationship with God. Jesus reinforces this when he says, “For as you judge, so will you be judged.” God will judge harshly those who judge others.

Recall that Jesus had previously told his audience, “ For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15) A similar principle is applied when judging people. Jesus hammers this point home with an example from the marketplace. Grain was measured to the buyer in a basket. The point he is making is that as we measure out judgment or mercy to others, so too will God measure our judgment or mercy to us.

Jesus then presents a parable concerning self-examination. This parable may have been based on personal experience, as Jesus, a carpenter, would have known what it was like to get a splinter or wood chip in the eye. Jesus employs a rhetorical technique that Jewish rabbis often used: he exaggerated the size of the splinter in order to make his point. The person in the parable has a wooden beam stuck in their eye.

The point of this parable is to caution us against seeing others’ faults while overlooking our own. We think we have a perfect understanding of others’ mistakes, yet we often overlook the obvious problems in our own lives. We believe we are qualified to judge and fix others, mistakenly thinking that our own lives are perfect. To regain our sight, we must self-examine and commit to making changes. First, confess and repent of our sins. Then, Jesus says, we’ll see clearly to help fellow Christians.

Daily Application

As mentioned previously, this passage is often misinterpreted by those seeking to promote a particular agenda. That agenda aims to permit all behaviors under the pretext that it is not our place to judge. What proponents of such an argument fail to understand is that our Lord is not saying that we can not judge behaviors. Quite the opposite. It is perfectly fine, one may even say recommended, for us to judge whether or not a particular action is moral and good. The entirety of Catholic Social Teaching is based upon the bedrock principle that actions can be judged.

However, what is beyond the scope of our human ability is to judge motive, to judge the heart of the one committing such actions. We can’t know what they understand, how well they were formed, or if they understand that the action they are taking is wrong. This is a challenge for us to behave in this manner.

Look at our modern political climate. Years ago, there was a difference of opinion on issues, but the motive of the different sides was not usually questioned. Believe that both political parties wanted what was best for the nation; they just differed in their approach to achieve it. However, that is no longer the case. Now, the motive is constantly being questioned, with both sides labeling the other as evil. What good has this produced? All that has resulted from it is a growing divide in the nation.

Furthermore, when we focus so much on judging others, we don’t spend time judging ourselves, which is a far better use of our time. In Mark’s Gospel, our Lord reminds us that, “The things which come out of a man are what defile him.” What is in our heart is far more consequential to how the Lord will judge us than what is in our neighbor’s heart. If we have hatred, malice, lust, envy, greed, or look upon our neighbor with contempt, that is far more damaging to us than anything our neighbor could do.

Yet how many of us spend far more time concerned with what others are doing than with what we are doing? When we gather around the “water cooler” at work, do we talk about our issues, or do we talk about our colleagues? When we see someone doing something we know is wrong, do we immediately judge them as a bad person, or do we have compassion towards them?

Every day, we need to examine what is in our hearts. We need to examine our innermost thoughts and feelings with great care and ensure that we are living up to the level of righteousness that our Lord called us to. If there are areas where we struggle, that’s okay. Take those to confession and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. Ask them to help you live according to his design. Ask him to help remove the wooden beam that is in your eye.