Mat 7:5 (NIV) 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.

Luke 12:48 (NIV) But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

We often think that superior knowledge is superior condition. God isn’t impressed with superior knowledge. He is looking for superior performance. If a person has little knowledge but is living all of it, God is pleased with him, unless he should have been gaining much more than he has. But we, who know so much, can see all kinds of people’s mistakes. Since we understand and can SEE those mistakes, He is holding us to a higher standard. He is expecting us to start wanting, studying, praying, believing, and taking faith-action so our KNOWLEDGE turns into a life of victory. When we start using our knowledge to become critical of others rather than letting it set us free, that is when the plank forms in our eye.

Rather than us getting critical of others and going around judging and condemning them, we spend our time with them showing them the way GOD set us free. We let them know we didn’t set ourselves free; God did it. We explain to them that we weren’t able to set ourselves free any more than they are able to set themselves free (Romans 7:18). We teach them that God loves them just as much as He loves us, and is willing to do the same for them as He has for us. Rather than judging them, we use our victories to help everyone we can to get the same victory.

When we see that others are really messing up and we feel far superior to them or more blessed by God than them, we become judgmental. It is at that moment we have a plank. The person with the speck is looking at the shortcomings in their life and wanting to change. They aren’t trying to compare themselves with others to see who is better. They see their inadequacies and are working on them. If we don’t see our inadequacies but are busy seeing the inadequacies of others, then we are judging. We aren’t using the Scriptures to grow spiritually so we can help hurting people; we are learning the Scriptures so we can stand above others and critique their lives. One method sets us and those around us free; the other method makes us feel superior and causes us to try to make others feel inferior.