What Your Opinions Could Be Costing You

Devotional

Day 1: The Danger of Judging While Sitting on Life’s Bench

We often critique others as casually as people-watching at amusement parks, mistaking this habit for harmless observation. Yet Jesus warns that every critical word becomes a boomerang – the measure we use against others becomes the standard applied to us. This isn’t about suppressing discernment, but recognizing how judgment corrodes relationships and invites spiritual attack. When we fixate on others’ flaws, we grow blind to our own glaring imperfections. The call isn’t to naivety, but to humility that recognizes our limited perspective. [02:34]

“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.” (Matthew 7:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: What casual criticism have you recently voiced about someone’s choices or character? How might that same measure backfire in your own life?

Day 2: Discernment Without the Gavel

Jesus never commanded shutdown of critical thinking – He told fishermen to be “wise as serpents” while remaining harmless. The difference lies in motive: discernment protects, while judgment condemns. Like a chiropractor adjusting spines without shaming patients, we’re called to spot error while preserving dignity. This requires holding convictions loosely enough to admit when we’ve misjudged, as the pastor did with the “fake” preacher who turned out genuine. [04:21]

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, ESV)

Reflection: When has your initial judgment about someone proven completely wrong? What guardrails could keep your discernment from becoming disdain?

Day 3: The Measuring Stick in Your Hand

The sermon’s financial analogy cuts deep – just as generous giving returns “pressed down” blessings, harsh criticism guarantees compounded rebuke. A woman’s toothpick and the pastor’s $10,000 lawsuit check become symbols: small judgments create big consequences. Our words act as spiritual measuring tools, calibrating both heaven’s response and human relationships. The narrow path requires surrendering our inner critic’s tape measure. [03:57]

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38, ESV)

Reflection: What current relationship strain might reflect the “measure” you’ve used with others? How could generosity of speech recalibrate this dynamic?

Day 4: Eye Surgery Starts With Your Plank

The comic image of a two-by-four protruding from an eye illustrates our hypocrisy in fixing others. Paris’ gracious response to driving critiques models how humility disarms conflict. Until we address our own glaring issues – whether pride, bitterness, or prejudice – our attempts to help others remain clumsy and harmful. Spiritual maturity means letting trusted allies point out our planks before we tweeze others’ specks. [09:48]

“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? 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 ESV)

Reflection: What “plank” have others recently tried to point out in you? How did your response affect their ability to speak into your life?

Day 5: Generous Forgiveness for a Judgmental World

The closing image of a church that fights like family – “if you fight one of us, you gotta fight the whole trailer park” – reframes community as a fortress against criticism. Just as the pastor prays for his lawsuit-happy neighbor, we’re called to bless those who’ve wronged us. This generosity isn’t weakness but warfare: kind words dismantle strongholds built by judgment. Every “God bless them” becomes a brick in Christ’s unoffendable kingdom. [40:14]

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: Who have you secretly labeled as “unlovable” this week? What one kind action could dismantle that judgment today?

Sermon Summary

Matthew 7 comes in plain and strong: “Do not judge, criticize, or condemn others.” Jesus is not asking anybody to turn off their brain or quit using discernment. Jesus is saying, “Put down the gavel.” Discernment can say, “That is not my vibe,” but judgment starts telling everybody else why that person, church, leader, or idea must be wrong.

The measure image gets real personal. The same measure sent out in criticism comes back pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Judgment does not just damage the person being talked about. Judgment opens the door to strife, offense, and a mind that cannot rest. A person can be right about a fact and still wrong to tell the story in a way that wounds somebody.

Jesus puts a toothpick and a two by twelve in the same picture. The little particle in a brother’s eye may really be there, but the beam in one’s own eye keeps that person from seeing clearly enough to help. Humility does not mean pretending sin, error, or trouble is not real. Humility means getting the timber out first, receiving correction without getting defensive, and making it safe for another person to say, “I was wrong.”

The warning about pearls before swine calls for discretion, not suspicion. Big dreams, big vision, and personal matters do not need to be handed to every loud opinion. Jesus Himself faced unbelief from people who only saw Mary’s son and the cabinet guy. A dream needs to be protected among people with enough faith and understanding to carry it.

The narrow road in this chapter includes refusing to talk bad about people. False prophets exist, but social media can turn one click into fifteen thousand voices accusing everybody of being wolves. The Bible remains true north, while criticism without knowledge becomes a gift of suspicion instead of discernment. God calls His people to keep asking, seeking, and knocking for wisdom, because specific direction follows obedience to the general direction already given.

Christ builds a sensible life on the rock when His words are heard and obeyed. Love stays kind, patient, quick to forgive, and unwilling to insist on its own way. A mouth brought under control makes room for peace, direction, healing, and a life that does not have time to stay in sin and strife.

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Key Takeaways

1. Put down the gavel [00:04:21] Jesus does not remove discernment from the believer. Jesus removes the right to act as judge, jury, and executioner over people whose full story remains unseen. Discernment protects the heart, while condemnation hardens it. A quiet refusal to pile on can preserve both truth and love. [04:21]
2. Remove the plank first [00:09:27] Jesus does not forbid helping a brother with the particle in his eye. Jesus requires clear sight before that help can become healing instead of humiliation. Self-examination turns correction from a weapon into an act of care. Humility makes a person teachable enough to become useful. [09:27]
3. Do not make offense permanent [00:11:17] Offense can turn a loved person into somebody irritating even while doing ordinary things. Proverbs describes an offended brother as harder to win than a strong city, because hurt builds walls fast. A quick apology and a soft answer keep one painful moment from becoming a permanent divide. Love leaves a door open for restoration. [11:17]
4. Protect pearls with discretion [00:19:22] Jesus warns that not every listener has the capacity to carry every dream, insight, or personal detail. Big vision can draw unnecessary judgment when it is placed before little minds and loud opinions. Wise restraint is not fear or secrecy. Wise restraint knows that certain things belong with a family of choice that can pray, believe, and understand. [19:22]
5. Choose love over critical noise [00:37:42] The narrow road often sounds like saying nothing when the flesh desperately wants to comment. Judgmentalism promises control, but it produces toxicity, strife, and restless thoughts. Love does not require agreement with everything. Love refuses to use disagreement as permission to become mean spirited.

## [37:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:44] - The Danger of Judging Others
[02:08] - Do Not Judge, Criticize, or Condemn
[04:21] - Discernment Without the Gavel
[07:38] - The Measure Comes Back
[08:22] - Toothpick and Two by Twelve
[10:45] - Making Things Right After Offense
[12:44] - Receiving Correction Without Defensiveness
[15:10] - Pearls Before Swine and Discretion
[19:22] - Protecting Big Dreams From Criticism
[21:23] - Church Division and Unnecessary Offense
[24:07] - Asking God for Discernment
[27:45] - The Narrow Road of Controlling Words
[32:39] - False Prophets and the Gift of Suspicion
[37:14] - Peace Through Keeping Quiet
[39:35] - Building a Kind Church on the Rock

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 7:1-5
“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.”
[[00:02:08]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=128s)

Matthew 7:6
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”
[[00:19:22]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=1162s)

Proverbs 18:19
“A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”
[[00:11:17]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=677s)

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
[[00:37:42]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=2262s)

Observation questions

In Matthew 7:1-5, what does Jesus say will come back to a person who judges others, and what picture does He use to make that point? [[00:08:22]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=502s)
What is the difference between noticing a “speck” in another person’s eye and trying to remove it while a “log” remains in one’s own eye? [[00:09:27]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=567s)
According to Proverbs 18:19, what happens to a relationship when offense is allowed to build up?
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, which descriptions of love speak most directly to criticism, irritability, and insisting on one’s own way? [[00:31:35]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=1895s)

Interpretation questions

Jesus says not to judge, yet He also calls believers to be wise and aware. How can a believer recognize the difference between healthy discernment and taking up the gavel of criticism? [[00:04:21]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=261s)
Matthew 7 does not say a believer should never help with another person’s speck. Why does Jesus make self-examination the first step before correction is offered? [[00:09:45]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=585s)
What might “pearls” look like in everyday life—such as a personal struggle, a big dream, a new opportunity, or a God-given vision? How can discretion protect those things without becoming secretive or fearful? [[00:19:54]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=1194s)
False prophets are a real biblical warning. How can a believer stay anchored in Scripture and still avoid developing a gift of suspicion toward every church, leader, or Christian online? [[00:32:39]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=1959s)

Application questions

Where is the temptation to criticize strongest right now—at home, at work, in church, with family, or online? What would “putting down the gavel” look like in that specific situation this week? [[00:37:42]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=2262s)
Think of a recent moment when someone’s actions, style, words, or beliefs bothered you. Did you simply use discernment, or did you tell a story about that person in a way that could damage them? What could be handled differently now? [[00:05:00]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=300s)
Is there a “log” that may be affecting the way you see someone else’s speck—hurt, jealousy, pride, impatience, past offense, or a need to be right? What would it look like to bring that honestly before God?
Is there someone you have become offended with to the point that even small things they do irritate you? Is there a conversation, apology, act of forgiveness, or quiet choice not to rehearse the offense that could leave the door open for restoration? [[00:11:17]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=677s)
How do you usually respond when someone corrects you? What could help you become the kind of person who makes it safe for others to say, “I was wrong,” and also humble enough to say those words yourself? [[00:31:12]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=1872s)
Is there a dream, burden, or personal matter that has been shared with people who do not have the faith or maturity to carry it well? Who are the trustworthy people in your life who can pray, believe, and give wise counsel? [[00:20:01]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=1201s)
What is one conversation, post, text message, or comment you may need to hold back this week? How might choosing quietness create more peace, clearer direction, and room for love? [[00:38:01]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3hkOerxPeY&t=2281s)

Sermon Clips

28s

“But see how you can shell out criticism, but you can also receive criticism in the same passage, and I won't have time to get there tonight, but it says, be careful casting your pearls before swine. In other words, sometimes you'll know the skinny about something and you wanna tell the skinny about something and you might be right, but telling them makes you wrong.”

44s

“Make it easy for people to tell you I was wrong. That's no big deal. I've been wrong the whole time. Our family's like that in a big way. The pastor of church, you gotta be that way. Man, you're talking about getting offended. Oh, Jesus. You're about getting your feelings hurt. You gotta grow in this big time. That's first Corinthians 13. You gotta go there. Love is kind. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love's not puffed up. Love doesn't insist on its own way. Love, god's love never fails. You wanna fail? Get out of love. I owe too much money to get out of love.”

29s

“We don't have to comment on everything. It's a narrow road to go, I'm not gonna say anything. Because peace will be there. Direction will be there. Again, not that we wanna get rid of our discernment. Not that we're saying everything's good and perfect. But just by not saying anything, sometimes a good thing.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Faith Church with Pastors David and Nicole Crank This sermon · AI assistant

How should Christians use discernment without condemning?

Why remove the plank from your own eye?

How does judging others affect your own life?

What Your Opinions Could Be Costing You | Paster David Crank