Preachers say, Do as I say, not as I do.

The line is a sardonic jab at hypocrisy and moral double standards, aimed specifically at clergy who exhort others to virtuous conduct while failing to live by the same rules. It captures a perennial tension between moral teaching and personal example: authority based on office or doctrine can be undermined when the speaker’s behavior contradicts the message. Read more broadly, it critiques any system in which leaders demand compliance without accountability, implying that ethical instruction gains legitimacy only when embodied in practice. The blunt, proverbial phrasing helps explain its longevity as a general-purpose rebuke of “rules for thee, not for me.”