Remove Your Plank, and Leave My Splinter Alone

 Remove Your Plank, and Leave My Splinter Alone

Have you ever found yourself going down the rabbit hole with someone on social media and having a political argument? I would say debate or discussion, but in the social media world, that seldom exists. In the recent past, I have discovered that perfect people who have knowledge about every political agenda exist. I didn’t think they did, but I’ve seen their posts. They make claims that if you even slightly disagree, they will tear you apart with words to berate you. It makes you wonder if they have been this evil with their words all along and you haven’t noticed it, or if you or they have changed. 

Let me the one to break the news to you. No one is perfect. No one has all the knowledge, especially with political fodder. Most of the political fodder is incorrect information anyway, so how could anyone on social media have all the answers and all the knowledge? Once we realize that we don’t have all the answers, and we are not perfect, maybe we could begin to understand the damage we are doing when we judge others for the splinters, we think we see in the eyes of others. 

Many Christians tout that the Bible informs us that we must judge others, especially in the arena of sin. They are partially right. I don’t like being partially right. I either want to be right or wrong. The partial part gets me in trouble. It turns the mirror onto me.  Maybe we need to have the mirror turned on us. For the few passages that inform us to judge others, there are some perimeters. First, you only judge the Christians. Second, you must be worthy to judge. Third, you must realize that you too will be judged in the same manner that you judge. So, if we are going to judge, let’s first turn the mirror on ourselves and investigate our own lives. 

The first person to judge is yourself. What sin are you struggling with? How do you want other people to treat you if they discover that you have this sin in your life? Do you want the experts who have never struggled with this sin to inform you how perfect they are? Do you want the experts to berate you for your sin or flaw? Do you want the experts to explain that you should have done life like they did? Most of us would answer those questions with the word, “No,” So why do we do it? 

If we can focus on the sins and flaws of others, we can hide from our own sins and flaws. As an avid viewer of Lifetime movies, I have discovered that serial killers are the best at focusing on the splinters in the eyes of others and avoiding the plank of their murders in their own eyes. It may not be physical murder, but Christians do the exact same thing as they destroy others with boasting on their perfections and exposing that those who are not as perfect as they are in an area are flawed and sinful. If we can avoid our own sins, then people will perceive us as righteous, holy, and good. If they knew our sins, then they would see us as evil. 

If we focus on ourselves, we can help guide others out of their sins. We would begin to have empathy. If we realize that we have a sin with which we struggle, then we have empathy for those who have a sin that is different from ours. If we took time to investigate the reasons why some people may struggle with these sins, we then can gain some empathy. Looking into the reasons of why people indulge in the sins that they do means we must have relationships with people who sin differently than us. Instead of berating them for their sins and flaws, we understand they have a struggle. With that understanding, we know how to approach them. 

If we truly want someone to rid a sin in their life because it is harming their own life, then we must discover the way in which we inform people of their flaws and sins. The Bible gives the perfect blueprint. 

Jesus laid out the path for us. If someone has offended you, go to them in private. Social media posts are not private. If they do not listen, then bring two or three witnesses with you. If that doesn’t work, then take them to the leaders. If that doesn’t work, treat them like an outsider because you are not going to convince them that they are wrong. Along with the passage in Matthew 18, we have another blueprint in James. 

In the small book of James, there lies a huge piece of evidence of how to confront people with their sins. “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16, NIV) We like that last sentence. However, our prayer is powerful and effective because we are righteous when we confess our sins to one another. That first sentence gets us. It doesn’t say, “Walk up to me and point out my sins.” It also doesn’t say, “On social media, claim how horrible I am because of my sin.” It says I need to hear your sin first. We are to confess our sins to each other. If you don’t want to confess your sins, don’t point out the sins of others. 

Our society is divided. Everyone believes that their way is the most perfect and right way to live. We must treat others as we want to be treated. It starts when we fix the flaws in our own lives. Then, when we connect with others, we are more aware of our own sins than we are of theirs. We realize that judging people whom we do not know is not our task in life. The more we work on our own sins and flaws, the more we bring people into the presence of Jesus, which is the ultimate goal. It all starts when we begin to remove the plank from our own eye.