Perspective Distortion

We continue this morning our focus on the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Often when Jesus was teaching, Pharisees were in the crowd. Pharisees, remember, believed that the way to usher in the kingdom of God, the way for the world to return to the vision God had for it at creation, was to follow the rules, exactly, to try to proscribe every detail about how a person went about living their lives…and they didn’t only try to do that themselves, they tried to enforce it on others.

I have a friend who, when she realizes the conversation has moved to judging someone else’s parenting or decision-making, says, “Well, from my perch of perfection….” As a reminder that we all have flaws. See, we have a tendency to climb up on our perch of perfection. It’s easy to take that first step – to begin to compare.
-I am dependable. It sure seems like he always has an excuse. And from there, that next step is so easy. I don’t think he’s really committed.
-I work hard. She hardly ever helps out, she’s not willing to really contribute and be part of things.
-I am here all the time. They always seem to have a lot of “other things,” they don’t know what is really important in life.
And with every step, we climb higher and higher onto our perch of perfection, from which we can see all the flaws in the people around us and we become hypocrites. Jesus warns that we need to be careful about climbing up onto that perch because we are not so perfect, after all.

Remember, the word “hypocrite” in Greek means an actor in a play. In ancient Greek theater, actors wore large masks to indicate which character they were playing. So, the word hypocrite came to mean anyone who was pretending to be something they were not. When we judge others, when we climb up on our perch of perfection and look down on someone else for their sin, we are hyprocrites, pretending to be God.

I once had a congregant come to my office to talk about some concerns they had. Concerns about the spiritual life of some other members of the congregation. The problem was that they held one point of view about an issue, and she held another. What she wanted from me was not to help her understand their point of view, or to help her clarify her point of view, what she wanted from me was assurance that she was right, and they were wrong, and therefore, that she was farther along in her spiritual journey than they were. When I explained that there is no way for us to know who is where on the journey, that we are all following Jesus, and only God knows our hearts, she was disappointed. She was sure that she was more like Jesus than this other person, Jesus warns us that our perspective is distorted when we compare ourselves with others.

What we see when we look at others judgmentally is like looking through a camera with a fish-eye lens. Does anybody know what it looks like when you take a picture with a fish-eye lens? It sort of looks like the image is in a bubble, right? The center pops and looks closer, and it almost looks like the photo is wrapping around an invisible sphere. It is a perspective distortion called barrel distortion. When you use a fisheye lens, the picture you get is not an accurate depiction of your subject.

I looked up how to mathematically correct perspective distortion. I learned that I am not going to be able to help you with your photograph. So, let’s focus on Jesus. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey with the crowds shouting “Hosanna!” John’s Gospel tells us that he performed signs so that those who didn’t believe might and then this is what he said, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. …“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words. …I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

The first step in correcting our perspective distortion is to understand God’s purpose in sending Jesus into the world. God is not interested in judging people. God wants to save. Jesus says, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” There is a sense of reciprocity here. God wants to save you, but God will judge you with the same measure that you judge others.

And if we are going to correct that distortion in our perspective, we have to realize that we need to be saved. We cannot live blameless lives on our own. The Apostle Paul wrote, “ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” It’s true for all of us. If we think we are without blame, nothing to feel guilty about, no sin…our perspective is distorted and we are only fooling ourselves.

The second step in correcting our perspective distortion is to realize that it is only by the grace of God that we are not condemned, that we are sinners. Once we realize our own sinfulness, we are able to acknowledge the beam in our eye and commit to removing it.

The third and final step in correcting our perspective distortion is to look again at the person we were judging and see that they do have a speck in their eye, a bit of sawdust, and gently help them get it out.

Not everyone is going to be open to your help, though. Jesus says, “Don’t give holy things to dogs. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they will trample them under their feet – and then turn around and attack you.” There are lots of opinions about who Jesus meant were dogs and pigs. We really don’t know. Is he talking about the household dogs that ate the crumbs under the table or wild dogs? Is he talking about those who are unclean, since pigs are unclean, or was he just painting a picture of a muddy sow with pearls around her neck or of a wild boar?

We don’t know who, Jesus, meant at the time, but we can understand his message. Jesus is saying that while they are to “Judge not, lest you be judged,” that does not mean that they are to be doormats. When Jesus says “Don’t give holy things to dogs” he means don’t waste your time and resources on those who won’t respond. And don’t offer your treasure to those who are clearly unclean, living in filth. They will destroy them and attack you. Another time in Matthew, Jesus is teaching the disciples about spreading the good news of God’s redeeming love and he says not everyone will welcome you. If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town.

Jesus is saying that there is a difference between being discerning and wise and in judging. So, the next time you realize you are alight on your perch of perfection, climb down. Step one: Judge not, lest you be judged. God sent Jesus in the world to save, not to judge. Step two: Remove the beam from your eye. We all have sinned and it is only by the grace of God that we are not condemned. Step 3: Gently remove the speck from your brother or sister’s eye. Once we are down from our perch of perfection, we are able to see situations without distortion and respond graciously rather than judgmentally. May we see clearly. Amen.