Hypocrisy: Get the Plank Out.

Matthew 7:3-5

³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

How hard is it to believe that this woman, pictured above, is really concerned about the welfare of her unborn baby? Loud noises are to be avoided when pregnant, but anyone would agree that smoking cigarettes is much worse for your growing fetus. Seeing such blatant disregard for her child's health totally discredits her case against the city.

¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. (Matthew 7:16-18)

What kind of fruit is hanging on your tree? People who are watching you, lost or saved, will know you by your fruit. I can't tell you how many times I catch someone that I work with watching my actions and comparing them to my professed faith. Now, like a tree that bares fruit, not all of that fruit is going to be ripe and red and perfect. There will be a withered up apple in the bunch, but not many. ⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1st John 1:8) As a whole, your tree should be full of Love, Patience, Faithfulness, Peace, Joy, and so on. All of which is very pleasing to the eye of the onlooker.

P. Washer gives an example that I find very helpful.

"Let's say I wanted to get your pastor fired. So with a Polaroid camera in hand, I follow him through his life, 24 hours per day. If I waited long enough and had my camera ready, he might just have a real bad day, where he hits his thumb with a hammer, screams out an obscenity, kicks the dog and storms off. "Click" I take a picture and bring it back to the church and say "Look at this picture I took! Is that the kind of Pastor you want?" Wouldn't be very fair would it?

What would be a better representation of his life would be for me to put the Polaroid camera down and pick up a video camera instead. Then If I followed him around, 24 hours per day, you would see a much clearer picture of this mans fruit."

People in our circles are taking little snap shots of us, and mostly when we as Christians slip up. The phrase that comes to mind and one that is practiced nightly on the local and national news programs is "Good news is great, Bad news is better!" People usually only remember the bad. You'll see this daily when someone tells you about the horrible service they received at a certain restaurant, or the jerk in traffic. When was the last time someone went out of their way to praise a good waiter to you? Or to mention a courteous driver the encountered? I'd venture to say almost never.

Don't lose your "witness" power. Let us strive to get the Plank out, and keep it out! Amen.

^{Matthew 5:14-16 ~}"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.