“The measure we use”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Friday, May 20, 2022

Matthew 7:1-12 (Forward, p. 22) CEV p. 989

Sometimes it is hard to see any thread or underlying theme in Jesus’ discourses. (Actually, sometimes there isn’t one!). However, there does seem to be an underlying theme in today’s short passage. Jesus is talking about how we treat others and He’s posing the question of what measure or standard we apply in this endeavour. He is ‘right on the mark’, for almost invariably we have some measure or standard in how we judge people and how we behave towards them, even if it is unconscious.

For instance, if I am approached on the street near the church by someone who is rather dishevelled in appearance and tipsy, wavering from side to side, my first thought is that this person is a panhandler looking for a hand-out in order to get another drink. My first impression, unfortunately, is not that the person has some debilitating illness, has slept rough—that is, on the street—or that he or she is simply wanting prayer. The truly bracing and embarrassing thing is that occasionally prayer is exactly what the person wanted from me, nothing more!

Often today’s passage is used as an excuse or a rationale not to judge others in any way, but that is a misreading of the text. Only a few verses later (verses 15-20), we are expressly told to judge others. Indeed, all through life we have to make judgment calls, to discriminate in some way or others. One simply cannot go shopping without doing so. Actually, what this passage is talking about is people, and the verse about judging (verse 1) is about condemning others or ‘writing people off’.

Making judgment calls is a fact of life, a part of our daily existence, so Jesus offers us some tips to guide us in how we do this:

a) Firstly, the standard or measure that we apply to others will be in turn applied to us. Let us think on this for a moment. Here I will apply it to myself: my initial assessment of a suspected drunk wanting some coins, an assessment that was based on exterior appearances only and made without investigating or listening to the person and his or her circumstances, will be used on me. Yuck. That, it must say, is pretty frightening.

b) Secondly, Jesus says that we should look to ourselves first, examine ourselves first, before trying to make judgment calls on anyone else. There might well be something in our own lives, a log as it were, that is so momentous as to impinge on our sight and prevent us from seeing correctly. And that ‘something’ can be a multitude of things: a belief or preconception, some bit of past experience, some hang up or habit or preoccupation or even some sin. All sorts of things can prevent us from seeing properly, especially when it comes to someone else. And rarely do we really look at ourselves first to see what might reside there.

c) Jesus then goes on to tell us to use God’s standard, which is to give generously and lovingly. God gives good gifts to those who ask, and so too should we. Elsewhere, He says that God gives gifts to all people, regardless of their behaviour (rain upon the just and the unjust). He doesn’t ‘bother’ to judge them at all.

d) And finally, Jesus tells us to use on others the standard that we want others to use on us—the so-called Golden Rule: “treat others as you want them to treat you”. That, if we are honest with ourselves, will present an entirely different measure or standard in how we interact with other people!

No matter how we approach or interpret this passage, it presents us with a challenge, a challenge about how we think about others, how we approach them, and how we interact with them. It is a practical and everyday challenge, one for which we need God’s guidance and help in order to navigate well. Amen.

Forward notes: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you” (verse 7).

“Usually, we think of these words as comfortable and encouraging.

“Our society is becoming more polarized, and our politics are becoming more strident and judgmental. It makes me wonder if we are adopting a darker and more disturbing saying: ‘If you search for something to be mad about it, then you will find it.’

“Are we seeking to find good, or are we seeking evil?

Moving Forward: “Take an honest assessment of your relationships and your presence on social media. Are you friends with people who disagree with you politically—or who look, act, or talk differently from you? How can you engage in authentic and respectful conversations, especially when you disagree?”