Why, then, do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye?

Matthew 7:1-5

 5. Why is it so much easier to see the flaws in others than those in ourselves?

⁵ During the first century C.E., because of oral traditions, the Pharisees in general tended to judge others harshly. Any of Jesus’ listeners who were in the habit of doing that were to stop it. It is so much easier to see the straws in the eyes of others than the rafters in our own​—and much more reassuring to our ego! As one man said, “I love to criticize others because it makes me feel so good!” Habitually censuring others may give us feelings of virtue that seem to compensate for faults of our own that we want to hide.