Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it — putting yourself under the scalpel of a blind surgeon? Jesus certainly thought so. He said “Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the splinter that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam of wood in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye.” (Luke 6:41-42 CSB).

Jesus is making it plain then, it’s important to see clearly ourselves before we attempt to ‘do eye surgery’ on someone else — especially when it involves helping someone else see the truth as we see it — because a lot of damage can be done (or made far worse) if we approach the matter impaled with the beam of pride, or a judgmental attitude that doesn’t see the whole picture as it really is. Hypocrites make lousy soul surgeons.

I’ve heard it explained that truth is truth, no matter who tells it, and it should be listened to – even if it flies from the mouth of a hypocrite. But I say the Holy Spirit is far more likely to convince a person of their spiritual danger, as well as supply a remedy for their spiritual problem, if they hear the truth from a person who is healed from their own.

 
Lord, help us to be very careful in our words and in our judgments, and see and remove our own spiritual maladies first before trying to correct anyone else.

 
Toni is author of Reflections from the Heart, in Light of the Gospel of Jesus, and The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens. Contact