If you were a tree...?

Matthew 7:15-20

Jesus turns his attention to false prophets. He is concerned that the people might be led astray by teachers with bad motives. Jesus uses two word pictures: a wolf that camouflages itself in wool to trick the sheep and that of a fruit producing tree. He contrasts good fruit and good trees to bad fruit and bad trees. The key words in this section are fruit, tree, good and bad.
The main point that Jesus is making is that false teachers can be recognized by their fruit. In the context of the rest of his sermon, Jesus is likely saying that false teachers will point you to the wrong gate which leads destruction and make you feel good about your choice, so as to make sure that you don't reconsider your choice, right up to the point of destruction. To be able to tell the difference between a false teacher and a teacher of truth, Jesus tells his audience to look at the fruit. His argument is that, just as the tree is judged by the quality of its fruit, the character of the teacher can be judged based on the teacher's life and the results of the teaching in other's lives.
The first question that comes to mind is: how does this fit with Jesus' previous teaching about judging others (7:1-5)? It is clear that Jesus is telling us to be very discerning and to judge a person's character to determine if he is a false teacher or a teacher of truth. I think that Jesus' main point about judging is that we shouldn't be hypocritical in our judgment. We shouldn't expect others to live up to a standard that we ourselves are not willing to live up to. Jesus is clear in this passage: we must learn to be good judges of character especially when it comes to teachers.
The second question is: what kind of "fruit" am I looking for in a person's life? I think there are primarily two. The first is the teacher's own character. What kind of father is he? What kind of wife is she? How does he treat his employees? How does she treat her "constituents"? How does he react to criticism and praise? Etc. The other fruit I think we should look at is the result of the teacher's teaching in the lives of her "disciples". I think I need to be careful with this one since even the teachings of Jesus have been perverted and misunderstood by people who would call themselves his disciples but if there is a consistent pattern that could reasonable be attributed to the teacher then I must be aware of it.
Thankfully I have the help of the Holy Spirit to help me to discern what is good and right. His guidance is invaluable. Thank you, Father, for sending your Spirit!