Modern “Log In Your Own Eye”
Before you start this article: please read this article without all the predisposed notions of Christianity, the Bible, and religion as a whole. The overall lesson here has less to do with the source and more to do with the message. Thank you!
I’m referencing the passage in the Bible in the gospels about judging others. This passage is from Luke 6:37–42.
37“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full — pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.
39Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40Disciples are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.
41“And why worry about a speck in your brother’s eye; also in 6:42. when you have a log in your own? 42How can you think of saying, ‘Brother. let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
In our society where we are constantly on display, it becomes so easy to judge others at face value. With Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube it becomes so easy to display our lives. This is where problems arise. People only display on social media what they want people to see. When you see someone’s post you don’t know the whole back story, so think a minute before you write that mean comment.
“How can you think of saying, ‘Brother, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?” It’s so easy to judge someone without wanting to get to know them. There’s multiple problems with judgement. First, it’s too easy to find people’s shortcomings. It’s way harder but, more valuable to find people’s strengths and praise those. Second, judgement’s are comparisons. When you’re judging someone, you’re either comparing them to yourself or what you think that person is like. You can’t possibly think that you know enough about anyone to accurately and fairly judge them. While judging someone you like and know really well, you’re likely to see them in a positive light whether you mean to or not. If it’s someone you don’t like, you’re going to have a negative bias towards them.
To my point about comparing someone to yourself, this is something essential to my personal philosophy. When measuring growth in science, business, or anything else you compare what is being measured against itself. If you were measuring 2 trees you would measure the first one then measure the second one to see if it grew. You compare to the previous measurement of the first tree. So don’t compare yourself to others when trying to achieve.
It’s almost New Years and everyone has some sort of physical goal regarding weight loss or physique. Often, people get discouraged because they see someone who is losing weight faster. This doesn’t make sense! You may see them at the gym whenever you go, but you have no clue what they’re doing outside the gym. If you are unhappy with the results of you, YOU need to change something. You CAN do it! You just have to stop comparisons. The only one that matters is comparing you to yesterday’s you. If you’re better than that version of you, you’re winning. Even if you’re only slightly better, it will compound and you’ll be the best version of you.
