A powerful means of leadership development and personal development is introspection—the skill of looking at one’s self, and determining areas that need adjustment or improvement. This is a rare quality in a leader, chiefly because most men can’t stand a hard stare into the mirror, risking disappointment, even fear, in what they may find.
Jesus taught His disciples—indeed the general populous—to value introspection. In His Sermon on the Mount, He gave a sharp warning to look first at one’s own sin and weakness, before pointing those out in others. In Matthew 7:3-5 , Jesus says, “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.”
What might constitute a “plank in your eye”? The short answer is a mindset that focuses on self-enrichment at the expense of others. Matthew 7 opens with Jesus’ command, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Modern secular scholars will point to these verses as an indicator to “live and let live”, and avoid imposing your own moral or spiritual values on others. The reality, though, is Jesus is talking here about introspection. What are the aspects of ourselves we most often overlook when we focus on the shortcomings of those around us?
Self-sufficiency. The Bible teaches us to have a mindset of dependence on God, versus independence in and of ourselves. 2 Corinthians 3:5 teaches, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God…” It is arrogant to assume we can meet all of our needs based on our own effort. This leads to putting one’s own needs above all others. Self-sufficiency is simply a self-centered life. In the late 1800s, a physics schoolbook contained the rhetorical question, “Why can not a man lift himself by pulling up on his bootstraps?”[1] This was sarcasm, meant to convey this was actually impossible. Yet today we take this to mean a person who improves his own position by his own efforts.
God desires that we look to Him, rather than to ourselves, for sufficiency. Self-centered people measure their efforts first as to whether it benefits their own lot in life. They’ll also look to others who are less successful as “probably not trying hard enough.” Effort is their commodity of value. The plank in the self-sufficient man’s eye is comparison—he’s constantly looking to see if he’s better off than his neighbor.
Self-aggrandizement. Closely related to self-sufficiency is aggrandizement, or the glory of self. Clearly Scripture teaches that it is God Who is to receive glory. This leads to considering only what brings you power or position, above the interests of others. 1 John 2:16 teaches, “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” That is to say, an excessive focus on one’s own achievements, importance or qualities leads to vanity and pride. The self-aggrandizing man boasts, seeks attention and feels and acts superior to others. Self-aggrandizement is self-importance. While the self-sufficient man looks to see if his neighbor’s car is as new as his, the self-aggrandizing man needs external validation—he needs others to reinforce how great he is.
This is the plank in the self-aggrandizing man’s eye—pride. God desires we give Him all glory, and credit for who we are and where we are in life, and follow His will and ways for a sense of purpose. This describes the humble man. Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” The call to be humble before God, giving Him the credit, permeates the Scriptures. In 1 Peter 5:6, the author tells us, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” Instead of focusing on how great he believes he is, the Bible tells man to focus instead on how great God is.
Self-preservation. At its most basic level, a self-centered man gives ultimate value to himself, to his own life. Self-preservation eliminates sacrifice. Often sacrifice is some thing or possession or relationship we may set aside for the cause of Christ—but it could also be one’s life. Jesus taught, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). This leads to self-avoidance. The self-preserving man hoards resources, isolates emotionally and suppresses personal growth—because generosity in these risk his own self-interest.
Jesus equated a sacrificial mindset with the highest order of love, saying, “Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends.” The plank in the eye of the self-preserving man is not miserly living, but greed. Self-preservation is an insatiable desire for more, lacking empathy or a willingness to help others for fear it will negatively affect one’s own life. A self-preserving man’s life is a zero-sum game, where he believes if others have more, then he will have less. So he ignores or avoids the needs and feelings of those around him.
About that plank. Finally, consider the comparison Jesus makes between what we see in others, “the speck” and what we should see in ourselves, “the plank”. We’re tempted to look at whatever small thing we find lacking in our neighbor, while often ignoring the glaring issue in our own eye. The lesson here is not to withhold all godly judgment from others. Rather, it’s to primarily have our eyes on our own heart and mind, asking God to reveal to us where our sin-of-self is centered. Am I pursuing self-sufficiency? Am I full of the pride of self-aggrandizement? Or perhaps I’m hoarding people, position and possessions in self-preservation?
Putting others above self is one of the key teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. Earlier in His sermon, Jesus reminds those listening, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Ultimately Jesus would demonstrate how much He treasured people by giving Himself in sacrifice. This required Him to deny the planks in the eye of man—self-sufficiency, self-aggrandizement and self-preservation. And the reason behind this action was His generosity. “For God so loved the world, that Hegave… His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
[1] https://uselessetymology.com/2019/11/07/the-origins-of-the-phrase-pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps/
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A powerful means of leadership development and personal development is introspection—the skill of looking at one’s self, and determining areas that need adjustment or improvement.