Articles
The Beam & The Mote
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how canst thou say to thy brother, 'Brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye,' when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye" (Luke 6:41-42).
For those who do not think that Jesus has a sense of humor, we provide exhibit A: beams and motes, or, as in other versions, logs and specks. A man with a log/beam in his eye, trying to take a speck/mote out of the eye of his brother. That is a very funny picture indeed!
But why does Jesus present this image? It is not just to get a quick laugh-- it is a very pointed example. We all can see how ridiculous it is for a man with a big stick of wood in his eye to try to take a small speck out of his brother's eye-- but are we willing to see how ridiculous we often look on the basis of the meaning of this picture?
The context is a guide to meaning. The declaration to "judge not" is made in Luke 6:37-38, and the image of the blind leading the blind and how they will fall into a pit follows (Luke 6:39). After the image, Jesus speaks of how trees are known for their fruit, the good and the bad, and how good people bring forth good and evil people bring forth evil (Luke 6:43-45).
Beams and motes, therefore, have to do with judgment and goodness or evil. We are all a lot better at discovering the sins and deficiencies of others than we are of our own. That does not mean that we do not have deficiencies-- far from it (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8)! It is just a lot more difficult to come to grips with that uncomfortable truth. It is always easier to see ourselves as better than we really are-- either by conveniently "forgetting" how they look, like the "natural man" of James 1:22-25, or focusing on their intentions and aspirations and not their actual conduct. That is why people walk around with beams in their eyes-- and they are generally blissfully attempting to forget about it.
The mote in our brother's eye represents his sin or deficiency in a given situation. There is a difficulty there-- Jesus does not deny this. The mote needs to be removed (Galatians 6:1)!
This can be done in one of two ways. Most people keep the beam in their own eye and attempt to remove the mote in their brother's eye. You can imagine how well that goes! The brother tends to be offended and the one with the beam does not understand why they are so unwilling to come to grips with their sin! The whole time the brother just sees the big old beam in the eye-- the unrepentant hypocrisy-- and they are easily turned off or turned away.
But Jesus intends for people to follow a different path. We all have those beams, and we all, when appropriate, need to help our brethren with their motes. But we need to first take the beam out of our own eye-- recognize our deficiencies, prove our own work, remain humble servants of the Lord-- and then we can look more carefully to help our brother with his difficulties. When he realizes that we do not feel that we are better than him, that we are fellow servants of God trying to obtain the Kingdom, and are willing to admit when we are wrong, our attempt to assist him will go much better.
The action itself-- removing the mote-- is not different. The difference is within us-- we either are willing to recognize our failings or we are not. When we refuse to recognize our failures, we deceive ourselves, and it is easier for us to treat other people contemptuously. That is precisely why we must recognize our failures, even though it is very uncomfortable-- it forces us into humility, perceiving that we are really no better than anyone else, and that will allow us to show compassion and mercy to others-- which is exactly the point!
It is a silly picture-- someone with a log in their eye trying to take the speck out of his brother's eye. And yet how many of us try to do the same by pointing out the failures of others while attempting to cover up or hide our own? Let us not look foolish-- instead, let us recognize our failings, maintain humility, and help others in love and with compassion-- and show good fruit!
