It’s funny how sharp our eyes get when we’re looking at somebody else’s life. Like, somehow, we turn into world-class analysts when it comes to their decisions, their drama, their failures. We’ll sit back, cross our arms, and break down someone’s life choices like we’re giving commentary on a boxing match.
“She stay messing up, she don’t never learn.”
“If I was him, I would’ve never let it get that bad.”
“They need to get their life together, it’s embarrassing.”
But when it’s our turn? When the same mistakes, the same bad habits, the same toxic cycles show up in our own reflection? Suddenly, we can’t see so well. That 20/20 vision we had for somebody else’s problems goes blurry real fast when the mirror flips.
Jesus wasn’t just talking to be talking when He said, “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to see the log in your own?” That was a straight-up reality check. A warning. A call to self-awareness.
Because let’s be real—most people are walking contradictions. We throw shade while standing under our own broken streetlight. We diagnose somebody else’s sickness while ignoring our own symptoms. And we do it so effortlessly, so righteously, that we don’t even realize we’re doing it.
It’s time to wake up to our own blind spots.
Why We’re So Good at Seeing Other People’s Mess
The truth is, calling out somebody else’s mess is easier than confronting our own. It’s a distraction. A defense mechanism. A way to avoid doing the work on ourselves.
It’s comfortable to sit in the judge’s seat and act like we’ve got it all figured out. But the moment we actually turn that lens inward, things get real uncomfortable, real quick.
We see someone drowning in their mistakes and instead of helping, we criticize. But the second we start slipping under the waves, we want people to have grace for us.
We roll our eyes at someone else’s bad habits, but we got habits just as toxic—we just cover them up better.
We call out someone else’s poor decision-making, but when we make the same kind of mistakes, we come up with a thousand excuses for why it was different for us.
We justify. We defend. We deflect. And we keep right on moving like we didn’t just do the same thing we judged somebody else for last week.
It’s a cycle. A dangerous one. And it keeps us spiritually stuck.
The Log in Your Own Eye is Holding You Back
Imagine trying to fix somebody’s vision while you’re half-blind yourself. That’s exactly what happens when we spend all our energy judging, correcting, and critiquing others—while ignoring our own personal wreckage.
That log in your eye? It’s blocking your growth.
That log in your eye? It’s keeping you from seeing God clearly.
That log in your eye? It’s pushing people away because your hypocrisy is louder than your advice.
Nobody takes wisdom seriously from someone who refuses to apply it to their own life. Nobody wants to hear a lecture on discipline, accountability, or humility from someone who refuses to check themselves first.
If you’re not willing to do the work on your own life, then what business do you have trying to run a workshop on somebody else’s?
How to Take the Log Out of Your Own Eye
The first step? Admit that it’s there.
Self-awareness is the real flex. It takes maturity, wisdom, and humility to look in the mirror and say, “I’ve been wrong before. I’ve made bad choices. I’ve hurt people too.”
Instead of using all that energy watching and critiquing others, turn it inward. Ask yourself some hard questions:
- Am I guilty of the same thing I judge others for?
- Do I have blind spots that I’m ignoring because it’s easier to focus on other people’s flaws?
- Am I truly helping people grow or just making myself feel better by tearing them down?
- When I give advice, am I also willing to take it?
The moment you start asking those kinds of questions, your perspective shifts. Instead of looking down on people, you start looking within. Instead of pointing fingers, you start checking your own reflection.
You start operating from grace, not judgment. From wisdom, not ego. From a place of genuine growth, not self-righteousness.
When You Remove Your Own Log, You Can Actually Help Others
Jesus didn’t say, “Ignore the speck in your brother’s eye.” He said, “First take the log out of your own eye, and THEN you’ll see clearly to help your brother.”
The goal isn’t to stay silent about things that need to be corrected—it’s to make sure you’ve corrected yourself first.
You can’t help someone heal if you refuse to acknowledge your own wounds.
You can’t preach about character if yours is still under construction.
You can’t lead others if you haven’t let God lead you first.
But when you handle your own business first—when you deal with your own baggage, your own brokenness, your own areas of struggle—then and only then can you speak with real authority.
Then, when you do offer advice, it comes from a place of humility instead of superiority.
Then, when you call someone higher, it’s not from a pedestal, but from a place of genuine love and experience.
Then, when you correct someone, you can do it without hypocrisy, because you’ve done the hard work of correcting yourself first.
Final Thought: Clean Your Own House First
If you don’t want someone else telling you how to live your life while ignoring their own mess, then don’t be that person to others.
Before you call somebody out, ask yourself if you’ve checked your own reflection lately.
Before you criticize a decision, ask yourself if your own track record is spotless.
Before you try to take that speck out of somebody’s eye, make sure you’re not swinging a whole log around.
Because real wisdom, real credibility, real leadership? It starts in the mirror.
https://medium.com/@panyamartin/empowering-communities-through-literacy-and-sustainable-growth-the-journey-of-mildries-road-8b10874bbec3
