The Sermon on the Mount 19 - Matt 7:1-5

Chapter 7 quotes Jesus as saying, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” This has always been a profound principle for me, both because I am very judgmental, and also because I am very hostile toward anyone who makes any judgment about me. Whenever there is the opportunity for someone to criticize me, I always say, “you don’t know me,” but in a very aggressive manner. And it’s true, they don’t know me, they don’t know who I am inside, they don’t know my hopes or dreams or struggles or my deepest heart felt desires. Even those who I consider close to me, I would say to them, “you don’t know me,” if they were becoming critical of me. And that’s the point, isn’t it? That we don’t really know each other so intimately that our judgments would be just or sufficient.

 

While reading through the IM about this concept, I came to associate “judgment” with “criticism.” If I were to replace the words related to “judgment” with words related to “criticism,” then the above verses would take on a much less loving tone. “Criticize not, that ye be not criticized. For with what criticism ye criticize, ye shall be criticized.” That really hits home, if we were to think about our thoughts or even our words about others, how would we feel if those same sentiments were thought about us? Do we want people to think or say, “she’s fat,” or “she’s lazy,” or “what an idiot?” If we think or say that others are fat or lazy or stupid, what the Savior is saying is that that will come back to us, and we won’t like it when it does. Judgment is such a final word, like it ends one aspect and begins another. To judge someone is to put a label on them, to discount their thoughts and feelings, really, to dehumanize them, to make them an object in your mind. They are one thing, and one thing only, the label.

 

The IM says, “The Joseph Smith Translation clarified the Savior’s words: ‘Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged: but judge righteous judgment.’ Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained these teachings and their application, basing his comments on the principle ‘that there are two kinds of judging: final judgments, which we are forbidden to make, but upon righteous principles: … The gospel is a gospel of hope, and none of us is authorized to deny the power of the Atonement to bring about a cleansing of individual sins, forgiveness, and a reformation of life on appropriate conditions. Second, a righteous judgment will be guided by the Spirit of the Lord, not by anger, revenge, jealousy, or self-interest… Third, to be righteous, an intermediate judgment must be within our stewardship. We should not presume to exercise and act upon judgments that are outside our personal responsibilities… Fourth, we should, if possible, refrain from judging until we have adequate knowledge of the facts.” So unless we are called as Bishop or something like that, most of the people in my ward are not within my stewardship, only my children and the sunbeams and only during primary. So I have no right to judge anyone except those individuals, and I only have the right to do so righteously. That’s interesting. How can I judge my children righteously? I could listen to them, I could hear all sides of an issue before making any decisions or decrees. I could love them and only desire their happiness and growth and I could base all of my decisions on that principles and I could pray for the Holy Ghost to help me love them like Jesus does and to know what Jesus would do.

 

Jesus continues, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?... Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” When I was reading these verses, I thought of a story, and lucky for me, the IM quotes President Thomas S. Monson as telling the same story, saying, “A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash. ‘That laundry’s not clean!’ Lisa exclaimed. Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!’ John looked on but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments. A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, ‘Look, John- shin’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.’ John replied, ‘Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!’” I think that this is the best illustration of the mote and beam in the eye that I can even imagine. This is such an excellent example of times when we project our feelings and insecurities and wounds onto others. I am guilty of this pretty much everyday, and specifically because I’m bitter and super aggressive toward men. It’s always a competition between me and any man I meet, before we can have any sort of relationship, even a professional one or a neighbor or anything, I have to let them know in no uncertain terms that they cannot hurt me and that I’m in charge of the relationship. It’s so stupid, it wastes so much time and energy and honestly, there is no guess as to why I’m single. Actually, the single part has many components, but the “I hate men” part of it is significant. As part of that, I think that all men are cheaters and that all men are selfish and lazy. If that’s what I believe, of course that’s the type of men that I find. Maybe if I started believing that there are good men out there, then I could actually start recognizing those who are kind, hard working, and temple worthy.

 

President Monson continues, “I’d like to share with you a few thoughts concerning how we view each other. Are we looking through a window which needs cleaning? Are we making judgements when we don’t have all the facts? What do we see when we look at others? What judgments do we make about them?... None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some reason, desite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions. There really is no way we can know the heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of someone who might say or do something we find reason to criticize. Thus the commandment: ‘Judge Not.’” The IM also comments on the Savior’s choice or example, “mote” and “beam.” It says, “The Greek word translated as mote refers to a tiny speck, chip, or splinter. The Greek word translated as beam refers to a large wooden beam used in construction houses. The Savior’s refrence to the mote and beam is an example of hyperbole, a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to make a point. The Savior’s teaching in these verses turns our focus from other people’s faults to our own.”