“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 7:3-5)

“Why” is a good question, isn’t it? We rant and rave at our young children for pestering us with this question, but could it be that our ignorance is from a loss of our youthfulness? We become accustom to the world, and we lose our sense of curiosity. The world is not at a loss; our heart is at a loss. How and why we act the way we do is something worthy of questioning. This is how we practice “watchfulness.” “Why” and how” are watch words for our hearts. Herein lies the reason Jesus asks “why” and “how”, in order to get at our heart.

Let’s ask why - why does a hypocrite pick certain fights or rant over particular issues? More often than not, the answer is a lack of clarity. A hypocrite does not see clearly. OP Sertillanges once said, “Moral purity requires moral clarity.” A hypocrite has not properly cleaned the vents of his own heart, and the windows of his eyes are fogging up. His own sin problem has caused a haze like that of a burning fire. The smoke is thickest at the fire, blinding at the sight and skewing all things at a distance. As someone who has watched their fair share of fires, those at a distance clearly see the problem. The hypocrite does not.

If we are to judge rightly, if we are to avoid a censorious spirit, we must first censor our own heart. We must execute right judgment in the areas of our own jurisdiction. This isn’t to say that one must be devoid of all problems; one must be able to clearly see the problem. So, I ask a simple question - what are the issues of which bother you most? How do you find yourself nitpicking others? Is it a diversion from one’s own problems? Or is it that we are not seeing clearly into our own life first?