My father used to give me this advice, "Don‟t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see." Of course I realized that his cynical counsel was mostly tongue-in-cheek.

But there is some wisdom in it too: don‟t rush to judgment.

We all pass judgment on others, even if it‟s only in our thoughts.

 Jesus was quite adamant about avoiding the practice of judging others. That‟ because we all have a tendency to make wrong judgments.

Our judgments are based on what we see. Often that‟ only a tiny part of the big picture.

In the temple courts Jesus addressed a crowd that was critical of him. They approved of a child being circumcised on the Sabbath, but they were angry with him for healing a man on the Sabbath. Jesus said to them, "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." (John 7:24)

 Jesus didn‟ tell us to close our eyes to the faults in other people, and always think the best of people we know to be plotting evil.

Even if you always look for the best in others, you can‟ help seeing stuff that concerns, alarms, or disgusts you.

But be careful. Judging others can get out of hand.

Your own faults and hang-ups can cause you to misjudge other people. Judging others is often quite precarious.

 In Matthew 7:1-6 Jesus tells us how to go about this difficult matter of formulating judgments about others.

In Matthew 7:1-6 our Lord Jesus Christ explains our responsibilities in this volatile issue of passing judgment.

God alone can judge without ever having to give account for his judgment. That‟ because he is the final arbiter.

We will be held accountable for our judgments.

The present continuous tense of the verb here means this is about a habitual tendency to be judgmental.

Jesus condemns an attitude that‟ always criticizing and condemning others.

Some people are a lot like vultures. They‟e always circling with an eye for something that is weak and vulnerable. They delight in swooping in on anything that‟ exposed and defenseless.

They never give people the benefit of the doubt; they always give them the benefit of the dirt.

Jesus warned us to be careful because we will all be judged.

Jesus didn‟ tell them to pretend not to see the faults in others. But if they hoped to receive God‟ mercy and kindness, they‟ better do the same to others.

When you see all kinds of faults and flaws in others, be careful, because you have a boatload of your own faults. The only difference may be that you have been able to make sure your faults aren‟ exposed.

The apostle Paul wrote, "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God‟ judgment seat." (Romans 14:10)

Don‟ be arrogant. You have an all-seeing, all-knowing judge who‟ got your number. He not only sees what you do, he knows your attitudes and motives.

A few years ago I realized I needed to tell myself that God sees me, and he sees right through me. There is absolutely nothing in my thoughts or actions that I can hide from God.

It‟ impressive how much there is in the Bible about judging others and being judged by God.

We all must be prepared to give account to God for our own lives.

 On what do you base your confidence as a Christian? Is it the fact that you decided it was a wise thing to place your faith in Jesus Christ? Never!

The only reason you have any hope is because of God‟ mercy. Were it not for God‟ mercy expressed in the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross for us, we would be condemned without hope.

That‟ because God is perfectly holy and just. Because of his holy nature he cannot excuse sin, so he paid the penalty his holy justice required for us.

If you judge others harshly and refuse to forgive, you may repudiate God‟ mercy in your own life.

Make it your practice to believe the best about others unless you have clear facts to prove otherwise.

 What is the proper attitude we all should have as we look at others, knowing that we will have to give account to God for our own lives?

When you pass judgment on others, remember this, God is looking at you.

You will have to give account to God. So be humble before your God.

I don‟ enjoy being completely honest with myself, do you? I usually find some crud that I‟ rather not deal with.

It‟ easier and more interesting to scrutinize the lives of other people than to dig beneath the surface of my own.

Few people blame themselves until they have exhausted all other possibilities (Unknown)

Jesus compels us to deal honestly with this.

This is obviously a hyperbole, a figure of speech depicting something extremely absurd for the sake of emphasis.

I don‟ think even Pablo Picasso would have painted a picture of someone with a beam in the eye, although much of his stuff comes close. Mrs. Picasso once said, "If my husband ever met a woman on the street who looked like the women in his paintings, he would fall over in a dead faint."

This is the point of Jesus‟metaphor: you have such a huge problem in your own life that you‟ better deal with it before you try to straighten anyone else out.

Often what we see in others isn‟ even there. We just want to believe it‟ there. What we accuse them of is actually our own problem that we don‟ want to acknowledge.

Judging wisely is an important thing to do in any church.

The apostle Paul instructed Timothy and Titus to judge the men in the church wisely. Then they could choose only those who measured up to the standards of elders.

You must form opinions about other people. If you don‟, you will be taken to the cleaners by ruthless scam artists, scoundrels and swindlers.

But it‟ so easy to fall into the habit of judging people negatively even if you don‟ have enough evidence to do so.

We form unfavorable opinions based on something we see or hear—and we may be dead wrong!

Eli the priest misjudged Hanna. He watched her at the temple as she was praying to the Lord for a son. Let me read it for you: „s she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."‟(1 Samuel 1:12-14)

 What Jesus condemns in our text here in Matthew 7 is hypocrisy—focusing on the faults in others while pretending not to have any faults in yourself.

He uses the metaphor of a beam in the eye that causes us to judge others blindly—to jump to conclusions without seeing the huge problems in our own lives.

The beam that blinds us to the truth is a synthetic compound of ego "stuff." There‟ pride, selfishness, jealousy, insecurity self-pity, prejudice, grudges, and other muck.

 Can any of you honestly say you have never harbored any of these vices in your heart?

This is what spawns and spreads vicious gossip.

It may be far from the truth, but we can spin it to make it seem credible. You can believe almost anything if you want to believe it.

 If you know someone who is full of negativity and criticism, and who rarely says a kind word about anyone, beware!

According to Jesus, that person is a hypocrite. So don‟ be deceived.

A hypocrite is someone who practices what he preaches against.

The things hypocrites criticize in others are usually miniscule compared to the major problems in their own lives.

But God did not anoint any of us to be censors of others, always finding fault and confronting in a destructive way.

 What should you do about things you hear that you cannot verify yourself?

Don‟ let yourself get swept along by the lies people tell. Don‟ pass along judgments that aren‟ true. That‟ malicious gossip.

Before you take the initiative to correct others, be sure that you have submitted to the discipline of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Be honest with yourself first.

This term "discern" comes from a Latin word meaning literally, "to separate off." It means to make a separation or a distinction.

You must exercise discernment in dealing with others. You must be perceptive, astute, and use common sense when you judge others.

 Some will respond to loving correction, others will reject correction and be highly offended.

Honest criticism is hard to take only when it comes from a relative . . or from a friend . . or from an acquaintance . . or from a stranger.

In the Book of Proverbs we find these words of wisdom, "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you." (Proverbs 9:8)

 Know who you‟e dealing with. Don‟ be a naive doofus when you‟e dealing with people.

 My wife Liz is very discerning in sizing people up. She had to be. When I met her she was a cop. Her specialty is victim assistance. It doesn‟ take her long at all to see what‟ real and what‟ phony.

My problem is that I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt to a fault.

If you sincerely confess your sins to God and refuse to excuse any sin in your life, then you will have the right attitude to see clearly so that you remove the speck from your brother‟ eye.

How do you do that? Do you just go poking him in the eye and pull out his problem?

No! It takes gentleness, doesn‟ it? Our eyes are so sensitive! There isn‟ much that requires more gentleness than getting a speck of sawdust out of somebody‟ eye. It‟ a very sensitive task.

You must be gentle, not harsh.

Jesus doesn‟ want us to be blind to the faults in others. If a brother has a speck in his eye, he is hurting, and you can see he is hurting.

A speck may barely be big enough to see, but it‟ enough to cause your brother pain.

That‟ what you respond to. It‟ your loving response to another‟ pain.

When the beam is out of your own eye, you go to your brother to help him, not to hurt him.

The mood of the first verb in this verse has the sense of, "Don‟ even think of giving dogs what is sacred."

The dogs and pigs here are not cuddly puppies or cute potbelly pet pigs. The dogs and pigs Jesus referred to were mean critters--vicious, wild beasts. They could inflict serious injuries on people. People avoided them and despised them because they were unclean.

 The point of this is, when you reach out and confront someone who has done wrong and try to correct the person‟ error, be very careful. You could get hurt.

If you have the best intentions and the purest motives and act in love, some won‟ see the value of what you are doing.

It‟ like a pig trampling precious pearls under foot, or a mangy dog turning to bite your hand even when you offer it a morsel of food.

 Be discerning of others. When you deal with other people‟ faults, even the tiniest ones, you‟e in a very sensitive area. Be gentle. And be careful, some people don‟ want you to interfere. They might turn on you.

After some people hear a sermon they go away and say, "I needed that. That was just for me." The theme of a sermon like that is probably quite safe; nothing that would prompt someone to think, "Wow, you must have a lot of ugly dirt in your soul to admit you needed a sermon like that!"

I don‟ expect that anyone will go out into the Welcome Center in a few minutes and say, "I needed that because I‟e been into heavy duty gossiping and passing along dirt without even knowing for sure if it‟ true. What I‟e been judging in others is really stuff in my own life that I‟e been denying. I‟e got a humongous plank stuck in my eye socket and it‟ got to go!"

Maybe you need to say something like that before God, and humble yourself and pray, "Search me, O God, and know my heart today . . . See if there be some wicked way in me. Purify my heart. Touch me with your cleansing fire."

This is between you and God, and perhaps some other people too.

Be humble before God. Be honest with yourself. Be discerning of others.