Why do you...?

Luke 6:39-42

Jesus told them this story: “Can a blind man lead another blind man? No! Both of them will fall into a ditch. A student is not better than his teacher. But when the student has fully learned all that he has been taught, then he will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the little piece of dust that is in your brother’s eye, but you don’t see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? You say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye.’ Why do you say this? You cannot see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You are a hypocrite! First, take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your brother’s eye.

Food for thought!

Jesus warned that no teacher can lead his scholars beyond the stage which he himself has reached. It means that we cannot beat Christ in goodness, in forgiveness, in love, in holiness. What Christ seeks to make each one of us is to make us as himself, that is, be as good as Christ is; be as loving as Christ; be as forgiving as Christ; be as holy as Christ; be another Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20).
And that is what Jesus is doing everyday. He teaches us what he himself does and practices. This is what sets Jesus apart from other preachers. He preaches what he lives, and he lives what he preaches. There is nothing that Jesus tells us to do that he did not do. Nothing!
This said, today Jesus is telling us something else. He is teaching us that we have no right to criticize others unless we ourselves are free of faults. That simply means that we have no right at all to criticize, because as, Edward Wallis Hoch put it, "There's so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us, to talk about the rest of us."
John M. Templeton said, "Any of us may experience stressful times at home, at school, or in our work. When things are not going well, it is often tempting to criticize others, and to blame others for our problems. We tend to think that finding fault with someone else can help us feel better about ourselves or our condition.
"In those 'down' moments that each of us has experienced, it may be best to remain silent if we cannot say things that are helpful and kind. Destructive language tends to produce destructive results. Besides causing unnecessary pain and suffering for those around us, our negative words frequently compound our own problems."