Log Removal May Be Required

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?  Your hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:3-5).

Have you every watched someone you love throw their life away?  Have you had to watch helplessly as they inch closer and closer to death?  It may be that you find yourself wondering if today might just be the day you get that call--the wretched call that tells you the torturous waiting is over, and your worst fears are realized.  Such phone calls do not bring about relief.  They only intensify the pain.

How can we help someone who is in the habit of making bad choices? Is there any sense in warning someone who has shown as much interest in repentance as a four year-old boy shows in a bath?  What about your own sin?  You know the one (or ones) I'm talking about--those sins you detest, but persist in.  Every time they trip you up you vow to never do them again, but much to soon you find your vows broken into a thousand pieces.

Jesus warns us of the inherent danger of looking to the sins of others without first looking to our own.  But is this an absolute prohibition against confronting others in their sin (especially when there is sin in our lives)?  The context of this passage suggests that isn't what Jesus meant.  Yes, Jesus wonders why someone is worried about sin in another's life, but blissfully ignorant of their own sin.  But his solution to such strange approach is not to command silence, but to call for confession and repentance.  He says, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:5).

We are to remove the "log" from our own eye, that is to remove sin from our lives.  This does not mean that only sinless people can warn, correct, or encourage people.  It means that we must approach them in humility, fully aware of our own sinful tendencies, and completely dependent upon the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus.  In such an atmosphere, we extend to them the grace we wish to receive.  We treat them as fallen brothers until they prove otherwise.  We do not approach the situation with an attitude of superiority, but one of sympathy.  If not by God's grace, we to would be carried away into some greater mischief.

We remove the log from our eye by confessing our sin to Jesus and trusting him to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.  We earn the right to correct by walking the humility that comes from grace.  We aren't moral authorities, as if we don't make mistakes.  We are broken individuals who know where to turn to be fixed.  When we encounter other broken people, we just point them in the right direction.  The goal isn't to get them to behave the way we want; the goal is to point them to Jesus.

So don't be afraid to approach someone you love with a message that confronts them in their sin.  It isn't hypocrisy if you're not pretending to be something your not.  I hope this emboldens you to speak to that person you've been afraid to talk to.  I hope they see your heart, and God uses it to move their hearts to repentance.  I hope you will tackle the logs in your life, so that you might see clearly to point other toward the right path.