A doctor says: let’s do an MRI and see. A watchmaker also takes the watch apart first and only then gives an opinion. With people it often works the other way around, because we look at them through rose-colored or dark glasses and immediately think we know. This scene opens a sermon about the speck and the plank, about correcting others, and about words that are sometimes better left for later (Matt 7:1-12). Jesus does not tell us to be perfect, but teaches us first to see what we are looking through, and to ask the Father for light. Listen if you want to check which glasses you have on when conflict hangs over your home.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- According to Jesus in Matthew 7:1-5, what does the plank in the eye mean, and how is it different from the speck in your brother's eye?
- Jesus says: "Do not give dogs what is holy." How do you understand these words in the context of correcting others?
- Through which glasses, rose-colored or dark, do you most often look at people and situations around you? Where might that come from?
- When was the last time you hurt someone with the truth spoken at the wrong moment? What can you do differently?
- What helps you see your own plank: prayer, God's Word, a conversation with someone wise, a moment of silence?
- In which conversation or conflict this week can you apply the principle from Matt 7:12 and treat the other person the way you want to be treated?
