Luke 6:38-42: a reflection

38“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.” 39He spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 42Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye.

Jesus asks a pointed question about how we tend to view faults: Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? He pictures someone eager to remove a tiny speck from another's eye while a whole plank protrudes from their own, unnoticed. First take the log out of your own eye, he says, and then you will see clearly to help your brother. Before we busy ourselves with others' small faults, we must deal with our own larger ones.

Notice the striking contrast Jesus draws: the speck and the log. We are often keenly aware of others' faults, the specks in their eyes, while blind to our own far greater ones, the logs in our own. And we can be eager to correct others' small failings while ignoring our own large ones, playing the critic of others while blind to ourselves. Jesus calls this hypocrisy, and prescribes the remedy: deal with the log in your own eye first, and then you will see clearly to help with the speck in another's.

That correction is one we need, for we are all prone to see others' faults more clearly than our own. It is far easier to notice and criticize the failings of others than to examine and deal with our own; and we can spend our energy on others' specks while ignoring our own logs. But Jesus calls us first to deal with the log in our own eye. Before you busy yourself with the faults of others, examine and deal with your own; take the log out of your own eye first. Do not be quick to criticize others' small faults while blind to your own larger ones; attend first to yourself. And only then, having dealt with your own log, will you see clearly to help your brother with his speck, gently and humbly, rather than as a hypocrite blind to himself. Deal with your own faults first, and let that humble how you regard the faults of others.

Lord Jesus, you asked a pointed question: why do I see the speck in my brother's eye, but not notice the log in my own? and you prescribed the remedy: first take the log out of my own eye, and then I will see clearly to help my brother. Give me that correction, for I am prone to see others' faults more clearly than my own. It is far easier to notice and criticize the failings of others than to examine and deal with my own; and I can spend my energy on others' specks while ignoring my own logs. But you call me first to deal with the log in my own eye. Before I busy myself with the faults of others, help me examine and deal with my own; help me take the log out of my own eye first. Keep me from being quick to criticize others' small faults while blind to my own larger ones; help me attend first to myself. And only then, having dealt with my own log, will I see clearly to help my brother with his speck, gently and humbly, rather than as a hypocrite blind to himself. Help me deal with my own faults first, Lord, and let that humble how I regard the faults of others.