Don’t Gloat Over Someone Else’s Sin – Pull The Plank From Your Eye, Then Pray For Them

Word-of-the-Day: ‘”But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”’ (Matthew 9:13)

We see many things we disagree with in today’s world, and most of it we have Righteous discernment to have such distress.  For the Believer, it is usually things that goes against the precepts and commands of Jesus.  In our Faith, it is easy for us to see the wrongs and the rights of the world, what actions we find horrible and want to repudiate.

Unfortunately, there are two things we must consider; first, those who are not in Christ and His family of Believers do not have the Holy Spirit to determine what is Righteous and what is not.  Most people who are not in Faith have a moral compass that we can agree with to great degree, being ‘good people’ who would not harm another, obey laws, and speak with kindness and are unselfish and giving.  Second, there are those who are of Christ who have the Holy Spirit but struggle with Righteousness in their own lives.  There are Christians who may have an addiction or habit that is sinful, but have the belief that ‘it’s not hurting anyone else so it’s OK’.

The Truth is simple, if you are a human being, you are a sinner.  Pastors, Elders, and even the little old ladies who attend our churches, those who many consider ‘saints’ of the church, sin.  It may not be often or big, but we all have thoughts that are impure, and if we act or dwell upon those impure acts, we have sinned.

For the Christian, the Holy Spirit keeps us in check; we may sin, but the Holy Spirit can convict us of our wrongdoing.  Sometimes it is sinning in the spur of the moment or from old habits or traditions of our culture.  I avoid driving on the interstate now that I’m retired, but when I have to use the highway, I don’t feel comfortable driving the speed limit but end up setting the cruise control a bit above it (well, about 10 MPH above it – I don’t want to compound the sin by telling a lie). 

Part of it is the environment on the interstate is such that if one goes the speed limit there is a risk of getting rear-ended as everyone else is also going faster, but part of it is I want to get where I’m going and the old habits overwrite the desire to obey the limit.

All sin works in the same way; we sin because we can either justify it (I don’t want to get run over by a semi) or we’ve grown accustomed to performing the sinful action (I’ve always had a lead foot).  We often have the ‘Plank in the Eye’ syndrome (Matthew 7:3-4) where we see someone else receive justice for the sin they’ve committed (the person who flies around you and five miles up the road you see them pulled over by an officer writing them a ticket) and think ‘Book him, Dano’ as we slow down, then resume the cruise control to 80 as we pass them.  We don’t have mercy for that individual and condemn them, though we are engaging in the same sinful activity.

Speeding does not mean we are not Righteous, but it does mean we are sinning.  Throughout the Bible, Righteous men and women sinned, but they repented and accepted the consequences of their sin.  If I speed and get pulled over, I need to gracious and in joy (but not necessarily happy) to accept the ticket, and be Christ-like to the officer who is writing the ticket.  When I pass someone getting a ticket, I should not gloat over their misfortune but be prayerful for His mercy to be applied; that this opportunity be used to glorify Christ, in their life and in the life of the officer. 

Taking it from the highway to more egregious scenarios, we see the protests in Minneapolis, and most of us disagree with those who are protesting and what they are protesting for.  But their protesting is legal and sometimes Christians can protest as well. However, if they interfere with officers, they are no longer peacefully protesting but breaking the law, and it is proper that they suffer the consequence of breaking the law.  The illegal immigrants who are the subject of these protests should also face the consequence of breaking the law by entering the US without through proper and legal channels.

However, do we seek justice in vengeful motives, or do we seek mercy and grace from Jesus for them?  I pray for those who face those consequences; I pray they accept justice and that through justice that they seek the Lord and come to Salvation in realizing their sinful acts.  The first part of Matthew 9:13 comes from Hosea 6:6: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  In the context of Hosea 6, God proclaims He wants obedience over the sacrifice of burnt offerings.  Jesus in Matthew 9 uses this passage with the Pharisees, as they complain He is dining with the tax collectors and other ‘dregs of society’.

Jesus is stating He wants people, all people and not just those who follow Him (the Righteous), to obey Him and His Word.  He does not want the Righteous to ‘sacrifice’ those who are not of Him and sin, to gloat when the unknown speeder gets the ticket or cheer when a protestor goes awry and gets pepper-sprayed, but wants us to have Righteous compassion for those who are facing the consequences of their actions and pray for His mercy, His Saving Grace, to come upon them.  It is Righteous to expect justice for the wrongdoer but it is improper to be pleased and joyful in their punishment.  Instead, we need to be prayer that they seek correction, seek Him, and be joyful in their repentance of their sin and acceptive of their consequence.

If we gloat in someone else’s sin, and the consequences they face, then we are also sinning and have the ‘Plank in our Eye’.  Pray for the Lord to remove it, and while supporting the consequences given, seek the Lord to intervene in the lives of the sinners, and to have us sin less as His Righteous followers.