.Thou beholdest the mote that is in thy brother’s eye and considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye



Everyone believes that he has fully understood these simple words, and yet there will be but few who
either that he is far from being able to make the words of the Son of God come to life or that he under
over for either party.
their usual and customary delusion that by reading the words they must also have truly grasped their
exception, since you found proof in all the others. Then at last your eyes will be opened about yourselves.
same way.
way that is annoying to others.
mistake. The fact remains that a man who gets upset about this or that fault in another person is sure to
He offered with His plain statements. But man did not honestly seek for their real meaning. Pretentiously
And so it is in a thousand and more different ways. Learning this and recognizing it will be easy for
remained dead for those who were supposed to have called it to life within themselves in order to derive
that he forgets to be indignant about it.
these words, like everything else, are placed into the same category as the weakness and slackness of the
glance, however justified it may be. This strikes a serious observer as so unspeakably ridiculous, yet sad,
the faults which most irritate him in others are present in himself to a particularly high degree and in a
cut through a knot that today holds down all mankind! Free yourselves, then joyfully help others in the
meaning. They convince themselves of this entirely as they see fit. That is not honest seeking. For that
However, man can and must use these words of the Son of God only as a measure for his own faults.
evident in all his past interpretations. It was transplanted in the identical manner into Christendom. For
even those who call themselves seekers have taken, and still take, everything much too superficially under
away, because you yourselves are not directly involved, and will therefore not attempt to gloss anything
meant to teach man to be lenient toward his neighbor. Leniency toward one’s neighbor will follow by
If he looks around with open eyes, and also observes himself at the same time, he will soon recognize that
kind of love which the Church likes to present as Christian love.
have these same faults to a far greater extent within himself.
values from it which would uplift them.
Approach such examinations calmly. You will be able to do so, and will recognize the truth right
This is what the Son of God meant to say with His simple words. Such was the value of the teaching
person one would like to avoid. These are the very people who expect to be treated with special kindness,
indignant about the faults of others, under close scrutiny. Before long you will be surprised to discover
itself as a natural consequence of experiencing this statement, albeit only as a secondary consequence. He
you. Once you have reached that stage, also have the courage to assume that you yourselves are no
as always, he merely wanted to look down upon others leniently. This flattered his disgusting arrogance.
estimates the wisdom of His statements from the outset. And in the interpretations of many preachers
and who become enraged, girls and women to the point of tears, if they meet with but a single reproachful
covertly expresses it. As soon as this happens, you should place this person, who is so critical or even
When judging people in the future you may safely assume this to be factual without fear of making a
This means a great step forward towards your development, perhaps even the greatest one! You thereby
This is a fact that will astound you at first, but which willalways reveal itself without exception.
In order to learn to observe properly it is perhaps best if you first closely observe your fellow-men
that the very faults he so sharply censures in others are present in him to a far greater degree!
have grasped their actual meaning. It is one-sided and wrong to interpret this saying as if it were only
who searches in the words of Christ in this fashion does not search deeply enough, and thereby shows
Take a person who is habitually sullen and discourteous and who seldom shows a friendly face, a
reason they cannot find the realtreasure, and therefore progress hasnot been possible. The Word
only. There will hardly be anyone who doesn't find this or that fault in another, and who openly or
The whole wretchedness of his false thinking, the unconcealed hypocritical pharisaism, becomes clearly
And every sentence the Son of God gave to mankind contains such values, which man does not find, but only because he has never sought for them diligently!