My Plank-Filled Eye

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
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? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7: 1-5

Being a Christian is strange sometimes. It is so easy to miss the mark and with naive intentions, take everything in the wrong direction. I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes people dislike Christians. I realize that darkness cannot live with light, and Jesus told us the world will hate us. I can accept that. But I'm wondering about those who maybe would be interested in hearing about Jesus, would find the true foundations of Christianity appealing, those who God wants to save and wants to use us to reach. How many of those people won't even give us the time of day because they have had bad experiences with proclaimed Christians? It's fine to understand that the world cannot accept us, but if we never try to reach people, if we stop loving people because of this, that's a problem. It makes me sad to think there are people out there who could know the love of Jesus but won't seek it or accept it because somewhere along the way they were disgusted with a Christian and now claim to dislike them and their whole belief system.

I started thinking about big examples of people turning others off with their faith. The most recent example that came to mind is Westboro Baptist Church protesting a soldier's funeral. They were taking their beliefs in the sin of homosexuality and other sins committed by Americans (and everyone else, for that matter) and using it to condemn others. They feel that they are called to correct the sins of others to perhaps shine light on it and cause change. At least, I'm guessing that's what they're doing. Another example is something that was a huge topic of conversation in the first few weeks of my counseling classes this semester. A girl in the Augusta State University counseling program refused to work with homosexual clients. She even went as far as to try suing the school. The case was dropped and I believe she left the school and transferred to a Christian-based school. She believes homosexuality is a sin, and because of that, she feels she cannot help them or work with them in a counseling relationship. And lastly, Scott recently applied to seminary at Liberty University. After applying, he did some research on the founder Jerry Falwell and realized that he too had caused a lot of problems in his lifetime by condemning others based on the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. (Scott has since decided to not attend Liberty after all)

So, what's the problem with all these examples? Well, it seems like they know sin. They are well versed on what is wrong according to the Christian faith. These all have a lot to do with condemning homosexuals, but it goes beyond that as well. It's the idea of condemnation itself that is the problem. Are these people wrong about these things being sins? Not if you believe in the Bible, which I strongly do. But I believe the message of the Bible is NOT one of condemnation. These people have missed the biggest mark of all. Jesus tells us (and I know I've said this many times before, but that's b/c it so important!) that we're called to love God and love others. That is the greatest commandment. So, we have the 10 commandments that tell us all the things we shouldn't do. But Jesus tells us, more important than all that, we should love God and love others. If someone is condemning others (in other words, telling them they are sinners and going to Hell), they are not loving them. And since they aren't doing what God has called us to do, they aren't being very faithful to Him either.

Those are extreme examples, but most people encounter Christians like this fairly regularly. They aren't necessarily protesting funerals or suing universities, but they are acting on these same principles. There are so many Christians who are judgmental. It's hard not to be because we are inevitably going to have an opinion on pretty much everything. But with hearts of love and mercy, Christians should be able to look past that opinion and see the situation for what it really is. But I think we all have planks in our eyes, and we're all zeroing in on that speck in someone else's eye. Why? And how can we start to remove that plank?

I think new Christians often have the biggest planks. It's almost undoubtedly going to happen. Because this is generally what happens when Christians become Christians: Most of us had to be completely broken before we were humbled enough to seek the Lord. Usually we all have one big thing that provides security in our lives and it's often to do with relationships and/or money. So a lot of salvation stories start off with losing someone, ending a relationship, losing a job, or having a financial crisis. Once we find that we cannot place our security in these things anymore, we feel broken, lost, and confused. We end up being humbled...realizing our own lack of control in our lives. Somehow or another we end up being saved by God. We may have turned to the Bible, had someone talk to us about Jesus, hear a particularly enlightening sermon or song, just try out praying, etc... But we are usually at a low point, empty of ourselves, and therfore ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit. After this happens, after we're "saved," "born again," "transformed," "get a new heart," whatever you want to call it, our eyes are opened to the truth. We better understand who God is, who we are, and what the world is like. We often see sin for the first time. Things that didn't seem like a big deal anymore b/c they're so accepted by the world now seem bad. We know that God has saved us and is working within us to make us righteous by His name, and we see all these lost people out there. It would be pretty difficult to not in some way think you are better than those people. It might not seem like we would think that. After all, we were just like those other people...lost, broken, sinful. Even though we're saved, we still have the sin of our flesh tempting us constantly. Nothing actually makes us better. But it's so easy to feel that way, at least a little. We look around and are disgusted with the sin of the world. We think, "These people are awful! They are going to Hell!" I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I've definitely thought that before, especially when I was first saved.

So, it makes sense that there are a lot of Christians out there turning people off from the faith because of their judgmental statements and actions, turning up their noses at others, or going as far as verbally condemning them. There are also people out there who claim to be Christians who, quite frankly, aren't. The world looks at these people and thinks they are such hypocrites, claiming to be Christians but gladly continuing to sin. I'm not saying Christians never sin and make mistakes, but if someone is happily continuing in sin after claiming to be saved, they are simply not saved.
"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1 John 3:9

I think these plank-eyed Christians in combination with people who profess salvation but do not possess salvation are really making Christianity look bad! And unfortunately, we've probably all done it at some point. We focused on that speck in our brother's eye without even realizing we had a plank in our own! So, how do we avoid this?

The best advice I can give is to return to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Constantly remind yourself that you are righteous because of Jesus NOT because of how good and great you are. Remind yourself of where you came from. Don't dwell on the past, but never forget that you too were once a lost sinner, and remember that you still struggle with your own temptations today. And remember that sin is bondage. Sin makes people slaves. And these people are SLAVES to sin, they don't know the love of Jesus, and they are JUST LIKE YOU WERE. You may not have sinned in the same ways. Sometimes it's hard to say a murderer is as bad as a gossip, but it's all sin and it's all apart from God and it all leads to the same place. And you were just as lost. And remember what Jesus calls us to do. LOVE!! It is not our job to condemn anyone. It never gives us instruction in the Bible to tell someone they are going to Hell. We should love these people. If we truly love them and wish for them to be saved, should we tell them to change their ways or they're going to Hell? Would that make you want to change? No! It would make you angry! But if we love these people, we should care for them, not pass judgment, and form meaningful relationships. We don't have to go preaching the gospel right away, but we should show them the love of God through our actions. Eventually, as a relationship forms, Jesus will inevitably come up because He's so a part of who we are. And then, once the person trusts you and knows you, they are much more likely to listen. I'm not saying to form fake relationships to convert people. I'm saying form real, loving relationships. Pray for people. We don't know who will be saved and who won't. God can save the worst of sinners. So, even if their current actions could send them to Hell, we don't know if God will save them in the future or not. So, we really have no business playing fortune teller and telling them they are going to Hell anyway. But beyond that logical point, love should resonate within us and every relationship we form. That goes beyond friends and family. That goes for neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and people you see on the streets. Even a simple action can show love. And that's what we're called to do.

Lord, remind me of your grace and what salvation and sin are really all about. Help me to look past the sin of someone and love them. Convict me of moments that I may become self-righteous or start to condemn. Remind me that acceptance doesn't mean approval; that I can love someone as you love me without loving everything they do. You loved me while we were still enemies, help me to love like that! I'm sure my eye will be filled again and again...help me continue to remove it. Amen.