Posted: 21 February 2024

From a sermon given on 18 February 2024:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
(Matthew 7: 3, 4 NIV)

Sometimes we adopt a tendency of being over critical to one another. Jesus was setting the pace on how we should evaluate each other. How believers act towards each other is a reflection of how God has acted towards them.

The "speck", perhaps a piece of plant or sawdust represent a small fault. The "plank", a piece of large timber, represents a major fault. He who corrects the minor faults of others and does not attend to his own serious faults is not sincere. We seek to get rid of the speck of sawdust, the tiny sin, from our brother's heart but we don't care about removing the plank, the big sin, from our own heart ( Applied New Testament Commentary).

It's very true that it is our responsibility to help other believers live right. The scriptures imply the appropriateness of believer's concern for other Christians when it is not done in a condescending, self - righteous manner (Bible Commentary HTML). Those with major flaws should first attend to them and afterwards attend to those of others.

Further readings:

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
(John 8:7)

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
(1 Corinthians 11:31)

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
(James 2:12, 13)