Honest Scales

Toward the end of Luke 6 we find a set of verses that are often misunderstood. Only the first part of verse 37 is often quoted to deflect criticism, but to do so misses the point of the section.

 Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Luke 6:37

A clearer picture is added by the verse immediately following it:

give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

Luke 6:38

It’s unjust measures that is the focus of this section, rather than a command to never practice judgement. In the first verse, you see people uncharitably judging by standards they wouldn’t use for themselves. By the next verse Jesus is instructing people to use fair measure when dealing with others.

We’re instructed to be charitable rather than indifferent when dealing with others. It’s not that we should look the other way and never address sin, but rather that we should consider if we could stand up to the level of scrutiny we are leveling upon others.

Blind Leading Blind

What follows is a number of verses with the same focus but with different object lessons to illustrate the importance of us correcting from a place of practicing righteousness ourselves rather than rebuking others for the same sins we are living in.

He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

Luke 6:39

Like a blind man leading another around, someone who is practicing a particular sin trying to instruct another in how to practice righteousness in that area would be someone guiding out of the same ignorance.

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Luke 6:40

Building still further on the previous lesson, this one shows that expecting others to be better than you, when you are the one instructing them on something, is foolishness! You’re not going to be able to instruct others on something you, yourself, don’t have a grasp on.

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Luke 6:41

Finally, a more colorful, painful illustration is given to address the damage that is caused when those who go about attempting to offer correction to others for things they, themselves, are struggling (or even content to live) with. Two people are walking around with something in their eye. That’s bad enough to make you cringe. However, one has a whole log blocking their view, and they’re the one who’s taken it upon themselves to go digging around (blind) in someone else’s eye!

In the Old Testament there are a lot of places which speak of dishonest scales in trade. Proverbs 11:1 says they are an abomination to God. Here, we’re talking about the dishonest scales we may have when it comes to forgiving others.

The Context of Community

As with so many verses taken out of context, this section becomes much easier to understand when you ask “What does this verse say about my ability to serve others in the body?” If you’re just focused on yourself, you may think “If I just stay out of other people’s business entirely, I’ll never judge anyone and therefore will never be judged!” In fact, this is the most popular interpretation, because we are a selfish culture.

However, that just leaves two blind men wandering alone, the students without instruction, and everyone wandering around with trees sticking out of their eyes! The role of the church isn’t for everyone to maintain indifference to the sin for which Christ died to conquer. However, we need to be more serious about our own sin than the sins of others. We ought to be more charitable with others than we are with ourselves.

People have often said things like “You can’t forgive others until you learn to forgive yourself.” As these scriptures illustrate, the exact opposite ought to be true for believers. We should always be more forgiving of others than we are of ourselves. It’s not “mind your own business forever”, but it’s certainly “mind your own business first”!

Self-Examination

We live in a world where people who practice crude behavior regularly and publicly will attempt to get someone fired for a crude joke they made 20 years ago. People rush to judge others for practicing a prejudice based on ethnicity knowing nothing about them but how light their skin is! It’s a mad world of unjust, unfair moral balances. Some of those who preach about the evils of legalism have invented an entire law which they only apply to others.

While this may be the culture, Christians must practice at least as much evaluation of our own attitudes and actions as we would be tempted to use in judgement of others. Dishonest scales are an abomination to our God, and that is something that should motivate us to never have double-standards in anything we say or do.

If, in the course of examining yourself, you find you have been guilty of this sort of judgmental attitude, the good news is that God is more forgiving than you have been! He desires that you repent rather than continue to live in sin, and if you will trust in him rather than your own standards and righteousness, he will forgive!