Read
“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?”
Matthew 7:3
Reflect
Bill was furious with his brother, Geoff, and he was absolutely going to set things straight. Geoff was stubborn and never cleaned up after himself, always leaving the mess for Bill to deal with.
And it had happened again today.
Geoff was trying to carry a small bucket across the room, but he was so clumsy that a little was spilling out. Now Bill would have to clean it up. So Bill—who was carrying a six-foot-long board on his shoulder—stormed across the room to handle things.
“Geoff,” he yelled as he ran, “you fool! Look at the mess you’re making!”
As he charged forward, the board swung from side to side, sweeping every item off every table in the room.
That exaggerated image is exactly what Jesus wants us to picture in His teaching about the speck and the log. He isn’t being subtle. He’s using deliberate absurdity to expose how blind we can be to our own faults while obsessing over someone else’s.
We often say that people shouldn’t point out our problems when they have problems of their own—but that’s not really the heart of Jesus’ message. His point is that when we focus too much on other people’s issues, we can completely miss what’s going on in our own lives.
Jesus isn’t forbidding discernment or correction altogether. In fact, He says that after we deal honestly with our own sin, we will “see clearly” to help our brother. But self-examination has to come first. Real help begins with humility.
For many of us, it will always be tempting to point out where others are getting it wrong. And we’ll never lack opportunities—there is no shortage of mistake-makers in the world, you and me included. Instead of dwelling on how much others offend us, we should pray that the Lord would first help us see, confess, and correct the places where we are prone to stumble.
A good habit to cultivate is this simple prayer before we speak:
“Lord, show me what I need to deal with in myself before I try to fix anyone else.”
If you’d like a visual portrayal of Jesus’ exaggeration in this passage, this video from Truma and this scene from The Miracle Maker capture it memorably.
Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
