Finger-pointing?

When my sister’s three boys were small, the family lived in Algeria in a compound for foreign workers. She required an armed guard to go shopping. One day in the nearby town, they saw a small person who was obviously a dwarf. One of the boys pointed to him and said, “Look, mom. It’s Zacchaeus.”

The man walked over to him and said, “You are not so tall yourself.”

We have chuckled over that incident, partly because the surprise that this Algerian man understood and spoke English — but also knew the Bible and had a sense of humor. Today, I’m noticing an interesting parallel between that story and the biblical story of the one taught in Sunday School as the wee little man:

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’” (Luke 19:1–7)

My nephew and the man were both small in stature, but my nephew didn’t think that of himself, at least until the man told him so. The parallel in the Bible story is that the people who grumbled about Zacchaeus being a sinner didn’t seem to think that they were sinners themselves! Their critical finger-pointing was done without realizing or admitting that they were just like the man they accused.

Many spiritual leaders and some psychologists have realized that we are often guilty of the same flaws we criticize in others. If I complain that another person talks too much, or is unkind, or jumps to conclusions before knowing all the facts, I am usually guilty of those same issues. I see myself mirrored in them, but instead of taking responsibility for my own flaws and sins, I make them the object of my scorn.

This is what Jesus was talking about in this well-known admonition about judging others:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 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? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5)

Not all critical judgment is like that. I can criticize child molesters yet have never done the same or even considered it. However, because of the ease that my sin is mirrored to me by others, I need to be continually aware — if I’m critical, I need to take a close look at myself before opening my mouth in judgment of someone else.

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, Your Word is my best mirror, but You often use others to show me my sinful attitudes and actions. If I am being critical of another person, jab me sharply with the reminder that I need to check first that my observation is about a log in my own eye. And if that log is there, remind and assure me of this wonderful promise of Your power and faithfulness — “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) — before I talk to someone else about their problems!