📖 Biblical Definition
Christ's figure in Matthew 7:3-5 of the timber-beam (Greek dokos — a load-bearing rafter) lodged in a man's own eye while he attempts to remove the speck of sawdust from his brother's. Christ does not forbid all judgment (the next verse names dogs and pigs to be carefully discerned); He forbids the hypocritical judgment that majors on others' small flaws and ignores one's own large ones.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
BEAM, n.
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1. The largest piece of timber in a building. 2. The beam in the eye — in Matt. 7, a metaphor for great faults in oneself, contrasted with small faults in others.
📖 Key Scripture
Matthew 7:3 — "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
Matthew 7:5 — "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."
Romans 2:1 — "Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou doest the same things."
Galatians 6:1 — "Restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern social media is a beam-spotting industry; Christ said remove your own first.
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Matthew 7:5 is a verse modern social media has rendered nearly useless by ignoring it. The internet is a beam-spotting industry: every account scans for motes in others while carrying lumber in its own eye. Christ's sequence is precise: first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
The teaching does not forbid helping a brother with a mote; the next clause expects it. The teaching forbids attempting the operation while half-blinded by your own log. The cure is not to stop seeing motes; the cure is to extract beams first. Self-examination is the precondition of useful correction. Pray Psalm 139:23-24 daily; do the surgery the Spirit guides; then approach the brother. The order is everything.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek dokos (G1385), beam; karphos (G2595), speck.
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Usage
"Modern social media is a beam-spotting industry; Christ said remove your own first."
"The teaching does not forbid helping a brother with a mote; the order is everything."
"Pray Psalm 139:23-24 daily; do the surgery the Spirit guides; then approach the brother."