“Refuse to be a critic full of bias toward others.” This is a line from a very important Bible passage — one which guides us with very powerful and vital insight that keeps us on the right path in this life.
We are all critical of others, but not all of us are critical of ourselves. Too often we hold others to a standard that we ourselves fall short of and we do so either consciously with full knowledge that we are being hypocritical, or we do it subconsciously. Another particularly important line from this same passage i, “In everything you do, be careful to treat others in the same way you’d want them to treat you, for that is the essence of all the teachings of the Law and the Prophets…” Here, we are told to treat others the way we want to be treated, which also speaks to hypocrisy — how can we demand that others treat us with kindness and respect, if we fail to do just that for other people, including complete strangers.
For me, both of these lines speak to hypocrisy — don’t judge others, when you yourself are a sinner with great flaws. Don’t treat people (judge) harshly, and then arrogantly expect others to be nice to us.
Here is the full passage of Matthew 7:1-14:
“Refuse to be a critic full of bias toward others, and you will not be judged. For you’ll be judged by the same standard that you’ve used to judge others. The measurement you use on them will be used on you. Why would you focus on the flaw in someone else’s life and fail to notice the glaring flaws of your own? How could you say to your friend, ‘Let me show you where you’re wrong,’ when you’re guilty of even more? You’re being hypercritical and a hypocrite! First acknowledge and deal with your own ‘blind spots,’ and then you’ll be capable of dealing with the ‘blind spot’ of your friend.
“Who would hang earrings on a dog’s ear or throw pearls in front of wild pigs? They’ll only trample them under their feet and then turn around and tear you to pieces! “Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door.
“Do you know of any parent who would give his hungry child, who asked for food, a plate of rocks instead? Or when asked for a piece of fish, what parent would offer his child a snake instead? If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him?” “In everything you do, be careful to treat others in the same way you’d want them to treat you, for that is the essence of all the teachings of the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate because the wide gate and broad path is the way that leads to destruction—nearly everyone chooses that crowded road! The narrow gate and the difficult way leads to eternal life—so few even find it!”
This is wisdom and guidance. God it teaching us that we need to be mindful of our own words and deeds before we go judging others. What man can condemn any other, when every single one of us is a sinner? And, didn’t Jesus come to save us all form sin? Yes, He did, so why then do we arrogantly feel we have a right to judge and condemn? Aren’t we taught to be kind, compassionate and generous? Yes, absolutely — its all throughout the Bible. So why then, do we forget this and close our hearts to the needs of others…and then self-righteously demand that people be kind to us or worse, we sit in a Church pew acting holier-than-thou, when we just failed to obey the will of God?
How do we learn these lessons though? Well one way is to recognize when we’re doing it — when we’re judging and condemning or being cold-hearted. For example, as I wrote this, I realized that I was judging those individuals who always judge others — so in essence, I was guilty of being hypocritical and doing what they do. However, we do need to be mindful of an observation vs. a judgement, so in this case, we can make an observation and at the same time, commit in our hearts to not fall prey to judging them harshly. And I firmly believe that if we lead from a place of sincere love and compassion, we stay on the path that we are meant to be on in this life.
