Matthew 7 Judging Others

In chapter seven, Jesus pursues my attitude toward others once again. Like John, I get to the moment of giving it all to God, and my next thought is, "What about him?" (John 20) I do my good deeds, I do them in secret, and then I notice that others are not choosing my high standards. Jesus in His infinite wisdom follows my psychological pattern of depravity.

So, He tells me "Stop judging others!" (7:1) Inevitably, when I make up a game, I invent rules that favor my own strengths. So it is when I compare myself to others. I see specks in the eyes of others, and ignore the plank in my own eye. I think I even want to help others, but I can't do it when I have a blind spot of my own.

Perhaps the core of this nugget is in verse 12: "Do for others what [I] would like to have them do for [me]." I can't know what they want, and it's not enough to just not do them harm. But if I treat others with the kind of grace that I would like to have offered to me, I have gone a long way down the road of true worship. When I drop a ball, I don't want to be yelled at. When I have a flaw that irritates or offends others, I want to be told lovingly by someone I trust is on my side. I want to be trusted beyond my trustworthiness and loved above my loveliness.

LORD, thank You for loving me unconditionally in Christ Jesus. Make me like You.
-ker