And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
The censorious are usually guilty of far greater failings than those they judge. If you wish others to view your infirmities with compassion, you must not view theirs with a censorious eye. Severity in judging yourself is the only way to learn charity in judging others.
AI summary
And why beholdest thou the mote--"splinter," here very well rendered "mote," denoting any small fault. that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?--denoting the much greater fault which we overlook in ourselves.
We discern a speck in another's eye far more quickly than a great timber in our own. The meaning is plain: we are much sharper in judging small faults in others than in seeing our own much larger ones. This was a common proverb among Jews and Greeks alike, and it deserves to be spoken in every age.
AI summary