This in turn is a picture of someone who applies different standards to himself and to others in a range of situations. He may judge quite differently the same sin in himself and in others. In his own case he shows undue leniency, but in the case of others he is far more critical and inclined to condemn. This is of course the basis of all hypocrisy. In his heart there are diverse or unequal weights and he carefully brings one and not another depending on what operation he is involved in. He measures others by a different measure to the one he applies to himself, so that he makes much of a speck in the eye of another, when all the time there is a beam in his own eye. Similarly he praises himself more than others for accomplishments; he rewards himself disproportionately for his achievements; he gives himself opportunities which he does not give to others who are as well if not better qualified. Again, he may use diverse weights, when he compares the Lord’s ways and man’s ways, as if the two were equal.
How can we be expected to interpret Solomon, when he uses such condensed expressions and so little information? Because we bring what we already know of ourselves and of the character of God and of what he has revealed elsewhere in his word, and as a result the Lord’s shorthand makes sense to us because all other possibilities are eliminated. For this reason, the disciples were at fault for failing to understand the Lord when he said, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ This could not possibly refer to literal bread and the disciples must learn to think as the Lord thinks in order to understand his meaning.