“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? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)
The bible gives a clear outline for correcting others. Look at the pattern. It doesn’t say that you shouldn’t give correction or guidance to others. It does imply that before you give correction or guidance to others, you should make sure that you are not doing the same thing in your own life. The bible verse says “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” We appear as the hypocrite when we try to correct others in areas where we ourselves need correcting. Think about your own life. Have you tried to correct others in an area where you need correcting? Where specifically do you need to change in your own life?