"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?
Sometimes it happens that as I reflect on the previous two passages, I am reminded of ways in which I think myself to have been sinned against, and so I may have already begun to reflect and to pray actively about the kind of thing that this passage recalls us to. However it is worth remembering that the faults we think we discern in others are often seen because we actually know them well from the inside. Or it can be that we are suffering from the 400 kilo gorilla thing: there it is in the corner of the room, taking up space and eating our fruit but we don't talk about it and even stop noticing it while we happily chunter on about the hamsters or goats that our neighbours seem to be keeping. If we approach the sins of others with an attitude of being aware of how easily we find ourselves either doing the same kind of things or the things that could lead to them or different things that nevertheless require that others are merciful and gracious to us, it can make forgiving others quite a lot easier. When we find ourselves criticising others perhaps we need to take it as a call to self examination. Likewise, when we find ourselves excusing our own actions, perhaps it is time to reflect on how much slack we cut others and whether we make similar allowances for others as we hope are made for us.
These are the kinds of things that are often going through my head as I pray "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us."
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