Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. – Matthew 7:3-5 ESV

Warrior,
The enemy loves us as critics. Why? Because most critics never feel the need to change. Jesus didn’t say your brother doesn’t have a speck. He does. Romans 3:23 clearly tells us that ALL MEN fall short of the glory of God. Scripture says by one man sin entered man’s DNA. That sin, that flaw, that failure – it’s real. But the Warrior in us must understand this: We cannot do effective warfare with impaired vision, with DI-VISION. Science calls it projection – we accuse others of what we have not confronted in ourselves. Jungian psychology proves what Jesus said 2,000 years ago; the brain will magnify a speck in someone else to avoid facing the plank in their own. A Warrior with a plank in their eye doesn’t just hurt themselves, they wound their brother, sisters and those watching, while attempting to “help” them. God is not calling you to ignore sin. He is calling you to see CLEARLY first. Your clarity is your weapon. God meets us where we are at, but He doesn’t expect us to stay there.  When we work on ourselves, we give others permission to do the same. That self-work then creates an opportunity to help others who desire the same. For as Paul said in Galatians 2:20; “For it is not I who lives, but Christ who lives in me”. When Paul says he has been crucified with Christ, this is about his old identity, old patterns, old self‑reliance, and old sin‑enslaved nature that have been put to death. What remains is a new life sourced in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and sustained by faith.

Leader, A Leader cannot lead others where he has not gone himself. The text is brutal: “You hypocrite.” In Greek; ‘hypokrites’ refers to an actor wearing a mask. A leader who judges from behind a mask has no authority. The order matters: FIRST take the plank out of YOUR eye. That is repentance. That is ownership. Agree with God that you have a plank, not a speck. As leaders UNDER CONSTRUCTION, we need to put on our BIG BOY pants, or BIG GIRL pants and stop minimizing our areas of pain, trauma, areas that are wounds that deflect and defend in attacks. It is a reality; “Hurting people, hurt people”. Only THEN will you see clearly to remove the speck. Notice – Jesus still wants the speck removed! This is NOT another “don’t judge” commandment. This is “BE qualified to judge.” A leader who has done his\her own hard work doesn’t approach their brother\sister with a finger pointed at them, they approach them with an extended hand – with humility, because they know what it cost to remove their own plank. When a leader has walked in that path, there is some ‘street cred’. Your family, your team, your church doesn’t need a perfect leader. They need a leader who is actively removing planks. Who is leading by example and examining themselves compared to Jesus’ example. 

Conduit, you are a pass-through agent- that is what the word means. You are not blessed to an attack dog, or a critic; you are blessed to be a healer, to be a HOPE PEDDLER. But you cannot pass through healing that you have not received. We can learn to teach. We can heal our own pain to help heal others and to have empathy and understanding of their dilemma. That plank in your eye? It’s your unhealed pain, your unconfessed sin, your pride. God wants to heal it not just for you, but so that healing can pass THROUGH you. When you remove the plank, you don’t lose your story – you gain sight. And that sight becomes a gift to your brother, to your sister, to your mother or your father, to the stranger and the familiar. You no longer see people as a problem to fix, you see them as a fellow sojourner to encourage, build up, restore, or just remember that they are seen and matter! IMAGO DEI, see Genesis 1:26. Why? Because you remember what it was like to have a plank in your eye. Today, let us stop looking for specks. Ask the Holy Spirit: “Show me my plank.” With that knowledge it is time to Repent and Remove it. Then go, with clear eyes and clean hands, and help your brother see again. CHOOSE today. Clear vision is not given; it’s obtained through obedience. Philippians 2:3 tells us; Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Thinking of others as better than yourself doesn’t mean you’re less, it means you are being obedient to Christ, it means YOU ARE FREE. Free from ego. Free from comparison. Free to serve, to love, to lead. Humility isn’t weakness it is strength under control- MEEK. It is written; “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”. (Matthew 5:5) The meek are not weak, they are WARRIORS with their swords sheathed. God gives them inheritance, peace, guidance, and protection because their strength is surrendered, not scattered. Be that Warrior!