2 Kings 17 : 5-8, 13-15, 18 / Matthew 7 : 1-5
There is one challenge with wearing clothes that are white-coloured or light coloured.
Especially with the white-coloured clothing, it is difficult to keep it from getting dirtied.
Any spot or stain is easily noticed and brought to attention.
Yet somehow the focus seemed to be on the spot or stain and the obvious colour of white is forgotten.
In the gospel, Jesus tells us not to judge, or more precisely, not to criticize.
Because Jesus knows how easy it is for us to indulge in criticism.
It is like focusing on the spots and stains on a piece of white cloth.
In life, minor irritations like spots and stains can become major issues.
For example, how one family member squeezes the toothpaste out of the tube can be a trigger for a quarrel.
Criticism is always destructive, and it also does the devil's work for him.
So when we look at another person, let us look first at his good qualities.
Let us look at the overall whiteness, although the spots and stains can be quite distracting.
Or like what Jesus said, when we see a splinter in another person's eyes, let us look closely again.
Because that splinter may just be a reflection of the plank in our own eyes.