If we try to imagine a cartoonist’s rendition of this saying, we are unlikely to forget its lesson! Imagine one person with a whole plank of wood sticking out of his eye as he desperately tries to examine his friend's eye, trying to remove a speck of dust! You begin to giggle, don’t you? It is laughable, ridiculous! He wouldn’t even get near his friend to help!
Here, Jesus deliberately sketches a verbal cartoon, a caricature, to teach us to laugh at our silly and absurd behaviour when we try to help others but cannot see ourselves or are blind to our inability to help. As with the blind in the previous saying, the question is: “Can I see clearly enough to lead, let alone criticise or judge someone else?”
What people criticise in others is frequently,
though not always, what they are subconsciously aware of, or afraid of, in themselves. We may know that there’s something seriously wrong with our life, but try to avoid the problem by telling someone else there’s a tiny problem with theirs.
So, the watchword to this parable is also ‘beware’ and be aware. I must beware of criticising, judging, or pointing fingers at others too quickly and easily. And I should try to become more aware of what in myself motivates my
understanding, judgements and conclusions about others.
Am I quick to criticise, judge and condemn others?
Am I aware of the inner feelings and inadequacies which perhaps cause my ‘quickness’ to judge – my swift and smart attitude?
Reflections by Reggie Venter
