The Critical Spirit
Pastor Larry Sarver
New Life in Christ
1633 SW 34th St. Palm City, FL 34990
561-283-9426 pastorsarver@yahoo.com
www.palmcitynewlife.org
Illustration: Guilty as sin! It happened just a few years ago. The banks in New Jersey had been robbed systematically, one after the other. What made the robber stand out was his politeness. He just gave the tellers a note which said, "Please place your money in this bag. Thank you." The newspapers called him the GENTLEMAN BANDIT. The widespread publicity led to a very unlikely arrest - the suspect was a Catholic priest. His church was appalled but stood beside him, saying they knew he could not be the bandit. They signed petitions, held protest marches and came up with his bail. But the police were certain they had their man. All of the eyewitnesses positively identified him. And the news media dug into his past, to find that in a previous church he had left under a cloud because of financial irregularities in the parish. For a priest he had a pretty expensive lifestyle - his own apartment and a fast car. His church was probably standing up for him because otherwise they looked like dupes. As I watched the story unfold on the news, I was positive this priest had pulled a fast one. He probably had a sociopath personality so he could rob banks and preach the next Sunday without feeling any guilt. No one outside his congregation was standing up for this guy. But then a funny thing happened. The REAL Gentleman Bandit was caught red-handed. As it turned out, he was the spitting image of the priest. It’s just that he WASN’T the priest. The priest was released, his church threw him a big party, and the news media and I felt a little sheepish. Source: Rev. David Holwick First Baptist Church Ledgewood, New Jersey
This story reminds us of how careful and merciful we all need to be in our judgments. We may be wrong! Even when we are right we can still be wrong in our response. We as a society tend to judge, analyze, and evaluate various things. For instance we can give a movie two thumbs up or two thumbs down. We can evaluate a person’s attractiveness on a scale of one to ten . I of course am a Ten! The concern I have is when we begin to make judgments about people. Are we doing so with a critical spirit or a merciful spirit?
What Exactly is a Critical Spirit?
A "critical spirit," is an obsessive attitude of criticism and fault-finding, which seeks to tear others down — not the same thing as what is sometimes called "constructive criticism." The only criticism that is ever constructive is that which is expressed in love to "build up," not to tear down — it is always expressed face-to-face, never behind their back. The person with a critical spirit usually dwells on the negative, seeks for flaws rather than good.
Source for this paragraph: © by Dale A. Robbins, 1990, and is a publication of Victorious Publications, Grass Valley, CA 95949.
This is an attitude we all need to be alert too. Several years ago, as I was reading the Bible one night, the phrase or warning of Jesus to "watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees" really stood out to me. I sensed that the Holy Spirit was trying to show me something about my own life. After several days of prayer and thinking, I began to understand that I had become in many ways like a Pharisee. As I took an honest look and evaluation of my own life I began to see how critical my heart and sometimes my words had become of other people. It seemed that I could find something wrong with every other church and every other pastor or ministry. I would often be critical or harsh toward believers and unbelievers. Subtly and slowly a critical spirit had entered into my heart and my life and God was greatly displeased.
Many times the criticism I felt or spoke was based on facts and was accurate. I was right and yet I had never been so wrong in all my life. You can be right and the wrong at the same time if your attitude is not one of mercy, understanding, and love but is rather one of fault finding and finger-pointing. Truth is not the highest virtue, Love is!
It is critical that we deal with the critical spirit because it is destructive and harmful to our walk, witness, and our world. It is harmful to our spiritual walk because there is nothing that causes as many problems in our relationship with God as an unforgiving, unloving , and critical attitude toward another person. A critical spirit is harmful to our witness because the world is watching us and listening to us and they will not believe that we serve of God of mercy and kindness unless we exhibit those traits ourselves. It is harmful to our world and by that I mean our own personal world-that is our families, are churches, and our workplaces. Certainly very few things do as much damage and cause as much dissension within marriages, churches and workplaces as a critical tongue and attitude.
Jesus our Lord, Savior, and Teacher gives us some instructions concerning the critical spirit in Luke 6:37-42. As most of you already know it is our practice at New Life In Christ to go through books of the Bible verse by verse. Currently we are going through the book of Luke and we are on lesson #23. I pray that you will pay attention and allow God’s Word through the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart today.
Read Luke 6: 37-42
As we have already noted this entire passage is on the subject of the critical spirit. Jesus basically gives us three types of instructions in this area. First in verses 37-38 he gives us an exhortation against having a critical spirit. Second in verses 39-40 he gives us a warning against listening to those who have a critical spirit. Third in verses 41- 42 he gives us an illustration of the foolishness of having a critical spirit.
Jesus begins by saying, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will but not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." This statement "do not judge" is a statement or phrase that even many non-Christians are familiar with and often tend to quote inappropriately. Many non-Christians and Christians believe that Jesus was saying that we should never make any kind of judgment or evaluation about right or wrong in other people’s lives. Many people think that Jesus taught that we should just have a "live and let live" attitude. When Jesus commands us not to judge others, He does not mean that we should not evaluate others’ actions, beliefs, or teachings. This is often carried to ridiculous extremes in our tolerant culture. I once heard of an example of this when on a jury with a woman said after hours of deliberation that she could never vote to convict the woman on trial, even though she was clearly guilty, because the Bible says, "Judge not, lest you be judged."
We know this from the rest of the Bible and from the context of this passage that Jesus was not forbidding us from making necessary evaluations about right or wrong or from being public about them when necessary. The Bible says for instance that we are to recognize and expose false teachers - that certainly requires that we make a judgment. The Bible also says that we are to deal with sin when we see it in the church or individual Christians lives, which certainly requires evaluation and judgment also. The Bible also says that we are to discipline believers who continues to willfully live a life of sin unrepentantly - that requires making a judgment also. The point is clear, Jesus is not forbidding all types of judgment, what he is forbidding is an unmerciful, critical, fault finding evaluation of others. This is the attitude of harsh condemnation and not of loving correction. This is the attitude that tends to hurt rather than to heal.
Jesus exhorts us to be very careful and be very loving in our evaluation or judgment of others. He is telling us to be slow to note their faults. We all live in a fallen world and it is hardly difficult It is hardly find problems with other people, especially when we’re looking for their mistakes.
Illustration: A Note in a Caribbean Airline Travel Guide: "Just in case you find any mistakes in this magazine, please remember they were put there for a purpose. We try to offer something for everyone. Some people are always looking for mistakes."
Let’s not be those who are always looking for mistakes and dwelling on the negative. We need to watch out that we don’t have a critical spirit and words for our spouse, children, employer, churches or neighbors, etc.
Jesus in effect is saying that we are to evaluate and respond to other people’s sins with mercy. We are to lovingly correct when it is necessary but we are not to condemn people or to disparage them. We are not look down upon them in our hearts or tear them down with our words because when we do that we are judging them in the very way that Jesus said not to judge them. Rather than to judge or to condemn we are to forgive or to overlook even genuine faults.
We all need to be careful that an unmerciful, fault finding critical spirit does not reside in us. Our goal at New Life in Christ is to build up a people who are like Jesus. This means we are to be a people and a church who exude mercy, kindness, and forgiveness to other people especially when they fail. I want us to be the type of church and the type of people to whom people run to and not from when they falter. When people’s weaknesses come to light I want them to know that they can come here and be received with love. I want us to be a church that will not condemn the weaknesses or the failures of others, a church and people who will not shun sinners or point the finger accusingly but neither will we ignore or excuse sin. Rather we will be an understanding, compassionate and merciful people who lend a helping and hopeful hand.
As Jesus exhorts us not to judge, condemn or be unforgiving he gives us a pretty good reason to be merciful. He tells us that we should not judge unmercifully so that we will not be judged unmercifully. We should not condemn so that we will not be condemned. We should show mercy, forgive others and overlook their faults so that God will do the same in our lives. We are to show people mercy by responding to their shortcomings with kindness, love, a positive word, and forgiveness. We are to show them mercy by judging them kindly and understandingly. If we do God will treat us in the same way.
That is motivation enough for me! I need mercy from God! I am in no position in my life to be forfeiting or hindering Him from showing me mercy. I need lots of mercy therefore I had better be willing to give lots of mercy. When God evaluates or judges my life I want it to be with gentleness, understanding and mercy therefore when I evaluate others and speak about others I had better do so with gentleness, understanding, and mercy.
God’s abundant mercy in my life allows me to walk in freedom, peace and joy. If I don’t show others mercy, but instead have a critical attitude toward them I will forfeit these things.
Illustration: Prescription For a Healthy Mind. A number of years ago, Dr. David H. Fink, a psychiatrist for the veterans administration, wrote an article for Coronet Magazine, entitled, "Release from Nervous Tension." In his article, he outlined his research into the causes of mental and emotional disturbances.
From over 10,000 case studies, he discovered that there was a common trait with all his patients who suffered from severe tension. They were habitual fault-finders, constant critics of people and things around them. Those who were free from tension, were the least critical. His conclusions were that the habit of fault-finding is a prelude or mark of the nervous, or the mentally unbalanced. Those who wish to retain good emotional and mental health, should learn to free themselves from a negative and critical attitude.
Read Verse 38
Verse 38 is often taken out of context to encourage people to give money with the guarantee of money given in an abundant return from God. In context though Jesus is not talking about giving money but he is talking about giving mercy. Jesus is saying that when we show mercy to others God will pour out so much mercy in our lives that we will be overflowing with his kindness and forgiveness toward us.
In New Testament times they wore their outer garment in such a way as to have a pocket on the front which was used for holding wheat that had been purchased. They would buy a pocket full of wheat and pour it into the pocket and press and shake it down so as much as possible would fit in. If the purchaser received so much wheat that even after doing all that it still overflowed outside of his garment he was considered to be especially blessed. Jesus is saying that we can be especially blessed receive mercy in the same fashion. He says that we will have mercy poured into our life abundantly, "a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over!" God’s mercy and his kindness can and will overflow in our lives.
A word of warning or encouragement is seen in that last sentence where Jesus says, "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Jesus is saying that if we show a small measure of mercy to others that is all we will receive for ourselves, but if we give a large measure of mercy to others we will receive a large measure from God in return. It’s the measure we use that determines how much we receive. The choice is ours.
Illustration: As child my parents would occasionally let us have a glass of soda. One night my mom told me to go pour my sister and me a ½ a glass of soda. I thought I would be wise, so I gave my sister a ½ glass of soda from the shortest and narrowest glass I could find, while I poured myself a ½ glass from the widest and tallest I could find. After pouring the soda and giving it to her my sister complained so my mom said that my sister would get to pick which glass she wanted since I had done the pouring. I found out what I means when Jesus said "with the measure you use it will be measured to you." I got what I had given to her.
Perhaps God has allowed some hurtful or especially offensive person to come into your life not so they would be a burden to you but that you’d be blessed. Maybe he allowed them to come into your life so you could be exceptionally merciful to them because you need to God to be exceptionally merciful in your life? Just something to think about.
Read Verses 39, 40
This is a difficult section to interpret because there are a few equally valid possibilities. I will not go into those different possible interpretations as that would only be confusing, suffice it to say that in context these parables or proverbs were meant to act primarily as a warning against listening to or following those with a critical spirit. To listen or learn from those who have a critical spirit would be like following a blind man. As Jesus said with a blind lead the blind both fall into the pit, both are brought down. Jesus sometimes referred to the Pharisees a "blind men" and this is probably who he is referencing in this parable. The religious leaders of the day had a critical spirit, so much so that they even found fault with Jesus. Their leadership had influenced the entire culture! It is the same with us. If we listen to those who have a critical, unloving attitude toward others we will soon find ourselves having that same attitude.
Now some of us may want to say "I’ll listen to them but not become like them-I’ll be above all that critical attitude stuff and just take the good." Really? To this kind of thinking Jesus said " a student is not above his teacher..." But when he comes under their full influence he will become just like them.
In effect Jesus is saying that it is unavoidable, a learner always becomes like the teacher. If the teacher or the speaker has a critical, finger-pointing, fault finding attitude than the learner, the listener will develop the same. I hope that we will heed Jesus words so that we will have the same loving, gentle and kind attitude that Jesus had. Remember when those who are blind to their own faults and own failures lead you it is like a blind leading the blind and both of you will bring yourself down to the pit. A student cannot be above the teacher. In other words you eventually will become like the person that you listen to and learn from.
Read Verses 41-42
Jesus has so far given us and exhortation concerning the critical spirit and he is given us a warning about listening to those with a critical spirit. Now Jesus gives us in these verses an illustration of those with a critical spirit. Basically in this text Jesus is saying that it is pretty stupid, foolish, and hypocritical to point out others errors when your own problems are so much greater. You see a speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye, which represents a small problem, while you yourself have a telephone pole in your own eye. In other words you have much greater problem than the person you are criticizing. Jesus is saying it that you are in no position to be critical of anyone.
Illustration: Imagine me going to K. C. and telling him that he needs to lose weight. Imagine me having the nerve to criticize the golf game of Tiger Woods. In both cases the problem is that I am in no position to criticize them. My problem, my errors are far, far greater then theirs.
We all have a tendency to exaggerate the errors and failing of others while we tend to minimize our own weaknesses and failures.
Illustration: In Charles Schulz’s "Peanuts" comic strip, Linus asks Lucy, "Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?" She answers, "I just think I have a knack for seeing other people’s faults." "What about your own faults?" asks Linus. Her response is, "I have a knack for overlooking them." -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997)
The illustration of the sawdust and the log reminds us of how easy it is to see the problems with others when we need to be looking at ourselves! It is time for us to look at the man or the woman in the mirror and start their with our criticism. After we have honestly evaluated our own lives, and after we have dealt with our own problems and weaknesses then we are in a position to carefully, and lovingly help others. As Jesus said in verse 42 "You Hypocrite, first take the plank our of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Here at New Life In Christ we are striving to be a church and to be of people that helps and not hurts. We are working to the goal of being like Jesus. That means we will be a people who lovingly correct others and not harshly condemn others, a people who build others up and not tear them down. We need to evaluate our own lives honestly and other’s lives mercifully while dealing with everyone lovingly. I urge you to heed Jesus words today. I ask you to keep watch of your words and your heart against a critical, fault finding and unmerciful attitude toward others.
Illustration: A practicing lawyer loved to attack his opponents through scathing letters printed in newspapers. In 1842, he ridiculed the wrong man. James Shields did not take kindly to the anonymous writer who lampooned him in the Springfield Journal. Mr. Shields tracked down the attorney who had publicly embarrassed him and challenged him to a duel. The man was a writer, not a fighter, but he could not get out of the duel without losing his honor. He was given the choice of weapons and chose swords in hopes of using his long arms to his advantage. He trained with a West Point graduate as he prepared to fight to the death. On the appointed day he met Mr. Shields on a sandbar in the Mississippi River. At the last minute their seconds intervened and convinced the men to stop the duel. The lawyer returned to his practice as a changed man. Never again did he openly criticize anyone. In fact, years later when he heard his wife criticize the southern people of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln said, "Don’t criticize them; they are just what we would be under similar circumstances." Do you have a critical spirit? Lincoln did, but he changed. How to Win Friends and influence People, Dale Carnegie, 1981, p9-10
You can change too. If you will acknowledge your need and yield to the Holy Spirit. You can be known more for you compassion than your criticism!
