In Matthew 7:5, Jesus calls me a hypocrite. I’m not the least bit offended by the truth of His words.

If you’ve ever judged, criticized, or complained, unless you are as holy as God is, you join me in God’s school for the hypocrite.

Towards the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus condemns those of us who judge others before first judging themselves.

If you’re unfamiliar with this passage, Matthew 7:1-5 says, “Do not judge lest you be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.  And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Because I know I am not perfect, and far from it, I know that there is a log in my eye. The Greek word for log in this text is the word “dokos.”  It describes not merely a branch, or plank, but a crossbeam on which planks lie in a house.

Jesus said to focus on ourselves FIRST.  He also said we can’t see clearly until we do.  We are in no position to judge until we first judge ourselves.

If you had an actual crossbeam in your eye, it would be hard to miss that. You would not be able to see out of that eye.  “What about my other eye”, you might argue.  “Wouldn’t I be able to see out of that eye?”  Jesus said you would not be able to “see clearly” (v. 5).

Somehow we can see a speck in our brother’s eye, but we can’t see our crossbeam.

It takes the Word and the Holy Spirit telling us we have a crossbeam in our eye in order for us to recognize that we have a problem.

Jesus tells us that every time we are about to judge, criticize, or complain WE have a crossbeam compared to THEIR speck.  The question is not whether or not we have a crossbeam.

The question is whether or not we humbly recognize our crossbeam.

To recognize your crossbeam is to take the first step towards removing it.

Before you can see clearly enough to remove your brother’s speck, you must first remove your crossbeam. After you’ve recognized your crossbeam, remove it.  Make sure that it is completely out of your eye.

Only then will you see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Lastly, I find it interesting that Jesus encourages us to remove the speck from our brother’s eye. Why not just tell our brother he has a speck, and tell him to remove it?  Instead, Jesus encourages us to get close to our brother, gain enough of his trust, then lovingly remove the speck from his eye.

But first, you must remove your crossbeam.

Live the life.