CREATING A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR CHANGE
The reason the axiom “no one cares what you know if you don’t show them how much you care” holds true is that people filter new information through trust and emotional connection before they process it intellectually. If they sense judgment, superiority, or indifference to their feelings and concerns, even the best facts or logic bounce off. The axiom confirms the principle found in Luke 6:37-41:

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you…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, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

This scripture warns against an attitude of harsh, condemning judgment toward others while self-righteously elevating self as morally superior. Even people who are not religious can understand the wisdom of this warning outside the world of religion.

The “plank” symbolizes pride and self‑righteousness — the gross, distorting attitude that makes me blind to my own sin/wrongdoing while fixating on someone else’s “speck.” The plank can also symbolize other kinds of sins that must be acknowledged internally before someone is qualified to instruct others. The value of this kind of internal integrity far exceeds head knowledge, reason and facts.

The scripture says that spiritual pride is more serious than petty faults (i.e. sound political or religious ideology) found in others. It also says that prideful self-righteousness is an offensive, obstructive character trait that inhibits honest, personal self‑assessment and compassionate, empathetic understanding of the feelings and needs of others. Hypocrisy refers to self-righteousness behaviors that mask inner arrogance, greed, or malice. Again, even people who are not religious can see the wisdom of these principles.

The bottom-line message for would-be political and religious activists is this:

Sensitivity to the core, inner needs of potential converts is more important than being right about policy, intellectual knowledge, logic, reason and facts.

In political and religious activism, sensitivity to the core, inner needs of potential converts is usually the decisive first condition for change; only when people experience genuine empathy does sound policy, knowledge, logic, and evidence have a real chance to persuade.