Editorial February 20, 1926 Issue

The Mote and the Beam

Editor

Many of Christ Jesus' parables are notable for their directness. With precision, and brevity likewise, he conveyed to those who would hear, spiritual truth so potent that were it heeded it would become the means of salvation for all, of freedom from material bondage, even the way to eternal Life.

One of these precious lessons is conveyed in the parable of the mote and the beam, a part of the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew's Gospel. In a few brief paragraphs, the Master set before his followers for all time the hypocrisy of rash judgment, the type of thought which would detect and expose another's fault, while holding to the same, or some other mental condition, perhaps even more reprehensible. "Thou hypocrite," he exclaimed, "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 implication is plain that in order to be justified in exposing another's fault, that in uncovering error in another, one must first free himself from similar error. Freed from error, one is in a better moral position to assist his brother.

In commenting on the necessity for spiritual preparedness in order to be ready to assist another to gain his moral freedom, Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key belief the Scriptures" (p.455), "If you are yourself lost in the belief and fear of disease or sin, and if, knowing the remedy, you fail to use the energies of Mind in your own behalf, you can exercise little or no power for others' help." The situation could scarcely have been put more strongly. Except one, through his spiritual understanding, has proved in some degree the power of Mind to destroy erroneous belief, he possesses little ability to help another; and precisely in proportion to his realization of the all-power and God and the consequent unreality of evil will be his capacity to destroy for another the claim of error to possess reality and power. When the mote has been removed from one's eye, he then is qualified to help in removing the beam which obscures another's vision.

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