Acknowledging the sin in our own life should always proceed acknowledging the sin in another’s life.

The basis of this statement is found in Luke 6:41-42. I find it ironic that some Christians have trouble with telling others about the speck of dust in someone else’s eye and other Christians have trouble seeing the plank in their own eye. It is a two fold problem. If I am to be a good friend to a brother or sister in the Lord, I must be willing to do two things: (1) speak the TRUTH and (2) speak the truth IN LOVE. It seems that it’s hard to find someone in our culture today that will do those two things for us. Oh, it is easy to find someone to speak the truth to you. Many well-intentioned church members (and leaders) are adept at speaking the truth; but to speak the truth with love and compassion for the fallen is another matter all together. Likewise, it is fairly easy to find a group of people willing to love and accept me right along with any sin I want to coddle; but to have that same group actually speak the truth is highly unlikely.
You see there is an order of operations to the acknowledging the sin. First, we must be willing to admit that we don’t have it all together. (This is usually harder for pastors and church staff, because the unspoken, unrealistic expectation is always there for them to have it all together….all the time) Once we have admitted the sin in our own life and have asked God’s forgiveness and repented (turned away from) that sin, we are now ready to be used by God to help others see their way clearly.
We must never forget where God has brought us from. I have met so many people who were former drug abusers or alcoholics who have “found religion” (maybe that’s the initial problem) and then go back to the friends that they used to party with and treat them like they aren’t worth anything….not even to God. This is what the bible calls hypocrite: to say one thing then do another. I am closer to God now than I have ever been in my life, but I am still very aware of the sin that lurks in the shadow of my flesh. I am not immune to sin, although through Jesus and the Power of His resurrection, I am no longer bound by sin.
It gets back to the two different types of people: those who are concerned with Truth and not Love, then those who are concerned with Love and not Truth. When Jesus stated who He was in John 14:6 and I John 4:8, He answered the question once for us all! Jesus is Love and He is also Truth! We cannot have one without the other and say that we are in the will of God. The key is balance and admitting your own weaknesses before trying to “minister” to others in their weakness. We minister to others from the overflow of what God is giving to us as he ministers to us. If we are not allowing God to minister to us, then there is nothing we can do for others. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Always acknowledge the sin in your own life, before acknowledging sin in others.