At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Wisdom,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.

Last week we began a new series called Kingdom Wisdom, looking at Jesus’ teaching about judgment in Matthew 7. This week we are going to build on that by considering something closely related: discernment.

Matthew 7:5–6 (NIV)
“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.”

Last week we talked about beginning with ourselves. Before looking for the speck in someone else’s eye, we look for the plank in our own. Before asking, “What is wrong with them?” we learn to ask, “Father, what do You want to change in me?” But then Jesus says something that might surprise us. Immediately after warning us about judging others, He tells us not to give what is sacred to dogs or throw pearls to pigs.

At first, that can almost sound contradictory. Jesus has just told us not to judge, yet now He tells us to recognize something about the situation in front of us. That is because judgment and discernment are not the same thing. Jesus’ illustration begins with something precious. Pearls were extraordinarily valuable in His world. In Matthew 13:45–46, Jesus even uses a pearl of great value as a picture of the Kingdom.

The Gospel is precious. Truth is precious. Wisdom is precious. People are precious. Our time and influence are precious. Kingdom wisdom learns how to steward precious things well. Jesus is not giving us permission to label people as “dogs” or “pigs.” Instead, He is describing what can happen when something valuable is offered in a situation where its value is not recognized.

We have probably all experienced this. We offer someone advice, but they do not want it. We try to help, but they are not ready. We explain something, but the conversation only becomes an argument. So we explain harder, louder, and longer, thinking, “If I can just say it the right way, they will understand.”

But we cannot force someone to receive something they are not ready to receive. A gift can be offered, but it cannot be forced. Truth works much the same way. So does wisdom. So does the Gospel. We offer. God works in hearts. Learning when to speak, when to listen, when to help, and when to entrust someone to God is not judgment. It is discernment.

And learning the difference is an important part of Kingdom Wisdom.

This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.

Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.

At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Wisdom,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.

We are starting a new series this week called Kingdom Wisdom, based on Matthew 7. Last week, as we finished our Kingdom Alignment series, Jesus brought us to a simple but life-shaping invitation: “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…” For thirteen weeks we walked through Matthew 6, and again and again Jesus brought us back to the heart. Why do I give? Why do I pray? What do I treasure? What am I looking at? Who am I serving? What am I worried about? What am I seeking first? Kingdom Alignment was about learning to live with our hearts aligned with the Father.

Matthew 7:1–5 (NIV)
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Now we come to Matthew 7, and Jesus begins to show us what that aligned life looks like when it encounters other people. Following Jesus is never only about my relationship with God. Eventually, the life God is forming in me has to show up in the way I see you, speak to you, respond to you, and even disagree with you. And that may be where things get difficult. It is possible to know the right things, believe the right things, and even practice the right things—and still treat people terribly.

So Jesus begins this part of the Sermon on the Mount with an important lesson: Kingdom wisdom begins with humility. Before I focus on what is wrong with someone else, Jesus invites me to let Him deal with what is happening in me. Jesus gives us this unforgettable picture of someone trying to remove a tiny speck of sawdust from another person’s eye while a plank is sticking out of his own. It’s funny. Jesus intends it to be. Imagine someone walking around with a two-by-four sticking out of his eye saying, “Excuse me…I noticed something in your eye.”

The problem isn’t that the speck isn’t there. Jesus never says the other person doesn’t have something in their eye. The problem is that I can become so focused on their speck that I become completely unaware of my plank. And isn’t that deeply human? We can recognize someone else’s impatience while excusing our own. We can see someone else’s pride while remaining blind to ours. We can identify someone else’s harsh words while justifying the words that come out of our own mouths.

Jesus isn’t telling us never to discern what is right or wrong. Later in this same chapter, He tells us to recognize false prophets by their fruit. Discernment matters. But Kingdom discernment begins differently. It begins with humility. It begins by asking, “Father, before I talk about what You need to do in them, what do You want to do in me?” That is Kingdom Wisdom.

This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.

Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.