Big Buts of the Bible

An excerpt from Chapter 7.

The word hypocrite first appeared back in chapter six. The term referred to an actor—someone playing a role on a stage. There, Jesus applied the word to people who had learned how to perform spirituality.

But hypocrisy takes more than one form. Sometimes it appears as public displays of devotion designed to attract admiration. Other times it appears when we become experts at identifying everyone else’s shortcomings while carefully avoiding our own.

Human nature tends toward comparison. We measure ourselves horizontally. “At least I’ve never done that.” “At least I’m not as bad as him.” “I’m doing better than she is.” 

Here, Jesus completely rejects that way of thinking. Before worrying about the speck in another person’s eye, He says, deal with the plank in your own.

Jesus condemns judging others in the manner of looking down your nose at them. His concern is not comparison. It’s honesty. The standard we use to measure others eventually becomes the standard we wish had never been applied to us.

Yet Jesus is not calling us to abandon discernment. There is a difference between judgment and wisdom. That distinction explains one of His more startling statements: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.”

Not everyone will value vulnerability. Not everyone will treat sacred things carefully. Not everyone is safe.

Proverbs repeatedly reminds us of this reality.

There is a difference between lovingly sharing your journey with another struggling traveler and exposing your deepest wounds to someone who delights in gossip, ridicule, or manipulation. One often leads to healing. The other often leads to further pain.

But there is One who is always safe. One who never weaponizes our honesty. One who never turns our vulnerability against us.

Jesus immediately follows this teaching by inviting us to ask, seek, and knock. He paints a picture of God not as a harsh taskmaster waiting for failure, but as a loving Father eager to give good gifts to His children.

The lesson closes with what we call the Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”

Many ancient teachers expressed this principle negatively: avoid harming others because harm may eventually come back to you.

Jesus elevates it. Actively pursue the good of others. Treat them the way you wish God would treat you.

Which, thankfully, is exactly what He does.