Articles
Jesus' Figures of Speech - 4
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Mt 7:3)
Jesus could have said, “Why do you find fault with another when you are guilty of even worse things?” But figurative language makes a saying picturesque and memorable. Thus Jesus speaks of splinters and logs in addressing hypocrisy.
So what is His point? It is not, as many think, that we must be morally perfect before pointing out another’s flaw. The “log” or plank in the critic’s eye is a fault of the same nature as the one in the person he is trying to correct – only worse.
An example is Judas’ criticism of Mary’s “financial mismanagement” in anointing Jesus with spikenard while he, himself, a thief, will soon betray Jesus for a mere pittance (cf. Jn 12:3-8). This is hypocrisy on steroids.
And the really annoying thing about it is … I tend to do the very same thing. I do not believe, as some say, that criticism of others is always a reflection of our own errors. But it is all too tempting to excuse in oneself what we find offensive in others. Our voice will have no impact if the person we are trying to help sees in us the same fault. The remedy is not to drop the matter but “first remove the plank from your own eye.”
