In response to your question – a great one – I think the first thing we day is to humbly ask why it’s so easy for us to see the “mote” in someone else’s eye. The old adage is true – when we find faults in others, they most often point to faults in us.

I also think we should pray – both for ourselves (“considering yourself” – Gal. 6:1) and for that repository of moteness. And then to ask for a teachable moment – an open door.

This very thing happened recently with someone I care greatly about, who was “leaking” in the area of anger/temper. It was a potentially volatile situation, so I specifically asked the Lord for an opportunity to “have that conversation.” 48 hours later, she was in my office, and highly motivated to talk and hear anything I had to say.

No, it doesn’t always work out that way. But if Jesus wasn’t calling on us to self-reflect first and call in Him to get involved in the process, I don’t know what else that passage could mean.