Beware of Criticizing Others
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” Matthew 7:11
I opened my friend Chambers and knew it was coming! The Holy Spirit uses this man to annoy me! J On June 16th I glanced at the next page and wanted to scream.
If there was one characteristic of our day and age that is grieving the heart of God it is our critical spirit. We live in a time when EVERYONE, myself included, has an opinion about everything and anything and how often I feel entitled to share my “opinion” which really is criticism.
Admittedly I was as ticked off as many of you were with the latest rounds of “predictions” from the mouth of an owner of a large Christian radio station. I have been guilty of making fun of him from the platform.
This week a report came out that this brother had a stroke which affected his ability to speak which means his voice will be silenced for a season. My first reaction was, “good for him! God shut him up!”
Then I saw some postings on Facebook about his stroke and read some of the most vicious comments including, “Well, he got what he deserved.” It was like the Holy Spirit slapped me on the head.
While I believe that his teaching was erroneous and off the wall, he is still a brother in Christ. Since I suffer with “hoof in mouth” disease, I am thankful that God hasn’t silenced me for some of the stupid, sarcastic, and evil things that have proceeded from my mouth over the years. You know what I am talking about – the kinds of words that when they depart the mouth you wish you could suck right back in?”
Chambers says that “the average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it.”
He says that “the Holy Spirit is the only one in a proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you somehow superior to others.”
He concludes by saying, “Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give is a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.”Ouch! My prayer – Lord, set a trap over my mouth! Help me to not be a critical person, but and encourager and a man who praises others. How about you? – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
Compass Pointers: "There are no atheists in foxholes," wrote William T. Cummings in 1942. "While crouched in a trench with bullets zinging overhead, even the most reluctant heart begins to bargain with God- just in case He might exist. "God if you only get me out of this alive, I'll. . ." But foxhole faith rarely lasts. The crisis passes and thoughts of God recede into the background. To the "foxhole Christian" God is there mostly for emergencies. Troy Borst
Anchored to the Rock: God seeks intercessor. God needs intercessors. God wonders why there are not more intercessors. Do not rest until God sees that YOU are one!” – Andrew Murray
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