On a pirate ship, there is no room for mistakes. You make a mistake and you get punished. A bad enough mistake and you could be made to walk the plank.
Good thing God doesn’t treat us like a pirate captain treats his crew. Yes, He reprimands us, but then He gives us a chance to make things right. We all make mistakes in our daily walk with God. One of those mistakes is judging others. God’s Word is perfectly clear on that subject, and we need to heed His words.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 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 (Matthew 7:1–3 NIV)?
It is very hard not to judge others. We do it every day without even realizing it. Someone walks by, and we think, “Too much makeup,” or “Could those shorts be any tighter?” or “How can he smoke around a baby?”
Come on, if we are completely honest with ourselves, we have to admit we all judge others from time to time. Well, they say that admitting you have a problem is the first step in getting rid of that problem. Right?
So, what is the next step? Well, if our problem is medical (drinking, smoking, drugs, overeating, etc.), we would seek the advice of a doctor. We have a doctor who is on call 24/7. He is the Great Physician, and He can help us rid ourselves of any problem we may have.
As far as judging others is concerned, His treatment is clear:
How 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? You 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 (Matthew 7:4–5 NIV).
How do we do this? Simple. We give the problem to God, ask for His forgiveness and He will give us the strength to get rid of anything that does not fit into His plan for our life.
So, either walk the plank and fall into the pit of hypocrisy, or simply remove the plank and live a life pleasing to God. The choice is yours.
Debbie Mitchell