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41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Luke 6:41-42)

In this statement Jesus is making an essential point for his disciples. The message borne by the true disciple of Christ is for us all and not for “them” or “you.” The true teacher of Christ will always come over as vulnerable participant in the humanity of those of whom they speak and to whom they minister.

The great diversion in spiritual progress is comparative discernment. We sense our own problems and know our own foibles but we look at others to divert ourselves from dealing with our own issues with God and others. We deem ourselves as “fixers” while we ourselves need fixing. We may even become professional fixers which is the most spiritually dangerous attitude of all.

Jesus warns his disciples to look at themselves. It is from this insight that we will work on repairing our own fences before we can speak to others about their issues. The disciple of Christ is blessed or cursed with discernment. It is a curse when we can see other people’s problems and will ignore our own. It is a blessing when we can see our own issues and from that become more empathetic and grace giving.

Get the planks out of your own eye first and then you may be qualified to remove the tiny grain of sawdust from the eyes of others. This is the first and foremost principle of God’s ministers.