Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "Common Sins and Struggles" by Joey Morgan - Part 8

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"Common Sins and Struggles" by Joey Morgan - Part 8 · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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Well, good morning everyone.
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So I've had a toothache since Friday, so if you see me pause for a second, it's not I'm
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going into deep thought and really thinking about something, you're about to get something
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brilliant come to your mind.
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It might be just I got a sharp pain or something or other, but I'm doing alright though.
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This morning seems like it's a little bit better.
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So today for the common sins and struggles, we're going to be looking at being overly
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critical or also known as maybe some people might want to call it judgy, even though they're
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a little bit different in the sense of the word.
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But it's also another one of those, a tongue and a thought struggle, I think, as well as
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we've been doing a lot with the tongue over the last couple of weeks.
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These are also being overly critical, being judgy is also a sin or a struggle that we
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might have that deal with the tongue and also our thought process.
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So when we're looking at being overly critical, we're looking at someone who struggles with
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being a constant criticizer, one who has a problem being critical with others or sharing
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their criticism with others.
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I think overly is an important word as we talk about this.
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There are times, and we're going to talk about that as well, that we need to be critical
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or we need to make a judgment on something or whatever it might be, but it's whenever
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it's overly, I think that's where we might run into a little bit of a problem.
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So whenever you hear the word criticism or a person who is overly critical, what comes
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to you all's mind?
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What comes to your mind as someone who has those attributes?
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Always finding fault with whatever's being said or whatever's being done or just always
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finding faults in things, that's a good thing.
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Anybody else?
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I have here someone who is typically fault-finding, oftentimes for the most part it's usually
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negative for the most part.
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Fault-driven complaints, a judgy person again is what someone might call judgment and criticism
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have a lot in common with one another.
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So the word criticism by itself is really not a negative thing or it can be positive
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as well, so it's neither positive or negative, it can be both, and it comes from the basic
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word criteria.
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Many of you probably know what that word is, it's the thing in which you might say is a
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standard or something which you make judgments upon, it's a certain type of criteria.
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So a criteria is a standard or principle by which something or someone can be evaluated.
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So when someone is being critical, what you're really doing is choosing to say something
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is wrong or right based on something, that's what you're doing when you decide to be critical
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of something.
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You're deciding, you're saying to this person what you're doing is either wrong or right
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based on this, whatever the standard is in which I know.
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Yes?
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Yeah, yeah sometimes, can be, not what you say but how you say it.
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So I worked in factories a lot whenever I was younger and we had what was called quality
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assurance.
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If you watch The Office, that's Creed Bratton, he didn't do a very good job I don't think,
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but basically what we did was we took parts that came off the line and we had a part over
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here off to the side of the line that was the, you know, well made part, had all the
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characteristics of what we were looking for and whenever we got a part off the line we
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take it over there, put it next to this one and say, does it have all the qualities and
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all the aspects of this part that I've made, does it look like this one that is the standard,
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you know, the one that it's supposed to look like, all those kinds of things.
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We checked to see if they were satisfactory or not.
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So there were certain criteria that needed to be met before we determined that part was
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acceptable.
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So by definition, by definition, criticism is judging or evaluating of something based
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on a certain criteria and there's two forms of criticism that we can talk about and one
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is legitimate, because like I said, it's neither really bad or good, there's times when we
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need to be critical of things, there's times when we need to make a judgment about something,
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when is it acceptable for us to do that and then when is it really not acceptable or when's
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it not a good idea for us to do it as well.
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So that's what we're going to talk about today.
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So for example, a qualified person makes an informed judgment based on acceptable criteria.
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Maybe we've got some teachers out here, I'm sure in this size of a class, in this area
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there's probably somebody out here that is a teacher or you have taught in your lifetime,
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maybe you're retired now.
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But if a student is required to complete an assignment, say write a five-page paper
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over if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable and they write a two-page paper, what are
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you going to say as a teacher?
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Your work is unacceptable, this is not what I told you that I wanted, this is not enough
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pages, it's not enough words, whatever it was, you would judge that paper incomplete,
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you would criticize their work based on it doesn't meet the criteria.
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Or if you're a parent and maybe you give allowance to a child based on a certain set of chores
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that they're to complete, if you do the dishes all this week, I'll give you a shiny nickel,
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that's what you're going to get.
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And then they don't do the dishes that week, you're not going to give them that nickel,
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you're going to say I'm not giving you the nickel because you didn't do the dishes this
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week.
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You're making a judgment based upon the criteria that was set, they didn't meet it, all those
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kinds of things.
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Again like my factory example, I check a part, it either meets the standard or it doesn't.
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So there's many examples, but the main point I want you to get are there are times that
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criticism isn't bad.
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Sometimes I think we look at that word as it's 100% negative.
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Legitimate criticism is necessary and sometimes it's to correct an issue to keep things from
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happening again.
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But being overly critical, however, means that this is the way that we are maybe all
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the time.
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And it's likely even though some of my criticism might fit into this legitimate category, there's
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probably a ton of times where it probably does not.
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You know, if I'm that way all the time, if I'm overly critical, being that kind of a
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legitimate criticizer all the time is probably unlikely if that's something that we do.
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So if we're going to be critical of something or someone, what are some things that we might
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want to make sure before we decide to be critical?
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What are some things that we should possess for our criticism to be legitimate?
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So before we go criticize something, before we go say to someone this, this is wrong and
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this and that, what are some things that we might want to possess or some things that
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we might want to make sure that we know before we decide to do those things?
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Make sure your heart is right.
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Yeah, make sure that you have, I've got here an unbiased judgment would be probably where
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that would fit into.
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Anybody else?
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Your facts straight.
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I have knowledge of the subject.
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That would be probably right.
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Make sure you have facts about whatever it is that you're about to go make a criticism
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about.
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Yeah, Andy?
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Make sure you're not being hypocritical.
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Anyone else?
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Andy said make sure you're not being hypocritical.
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I've got to try to remember to repeat those things.
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I always think everybody can hear everybody.
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I forget I'm the only one that's got a microphone sometimes.
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Anything else?
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Yes?
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Your motivation.
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Your motivation needs to be right.
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All things that we're going to talk about are good answers.
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So I have one being a standard for judgment.
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I don't need to just make willy-nilly what my judgment is.
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I don't need to go criticize someone just because this is what I think or this is what
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I feel about things or whatever it might be.
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Criticism to be legitimate, it must use an acceptable standard in its evaluation.
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The same thing I mentioned about, you know, my quality assurance in a factory, if I don't
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have that one standard part right there to go by and I just say, well, this one doesn't
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look right to me, it could be right.
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I wouldn't know.
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I don't have anything to go by.
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I have to have something that I can go by and say this is what it's supposed to be before
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I go and criticize something.
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So you can't judge apples against oranges and proper criticism needs a consistent and
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legitimate standard, you know, to measure against.
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Then knowledge of the subject, which fits into some of what you all said.
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The more knowledgeable the judge, the more valuable the criticism.
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This is why maybe you've watched court shows and what do they always bring in to say if
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something is right or wrong about something?
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They bring in the experts, the ones they paid the most money to say what they want to say,
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I think sometimes, but that's beside the point.
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But they bring in the experts because this person has knowledge on the subject.
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If I want them to say whether or not this situation was right or wrong or indifferent
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or whatever, I want somebody who knows what they're talking about.
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I want somebody who's got some knowledge on the situation.
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And then an unbiased judgment.
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The most valuable and constructive criticism comes from a knowledgeable and unbiased judge.
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It's why many, like a pharmaceutical company or something like that, they have to send
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their products outside of their own sales to get evaluated because you need a third
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party that's unbiased to say whether or not this is right or wrong.
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So when criticism contains those, sometimes that's what helps to evaluate whether it's
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going to be good or bad.
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But turn over to 1 Corinthians 11 because the Bible makes reference to a criticism here
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or a judgment here that is something that we need to be doing.
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And I think that it shows us that there are legitimate forms of criticism.
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You can even go outside of the verses that over in Matthew 18, if a brother sins against
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you, you're to go to him.
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So that means we maybe sometimes have to go to someone and say this was right or wrong.
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Or Galatians 6.1, if you go to someone who's caught in sin with the purpose of restoration,
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again that's going to someone and telling someone maybe something is right or wrong.
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So there's several examples, but over in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul giving instructions
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on the Lord's Supper and he uses the word judge twice, and that's what I want to look
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at.
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So beginning at verse 27, 1 Corinthians 11, he says, therefore whoever eats this bread
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or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood
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of the Lord.
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But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat the bread and drink the cup.
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For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself,
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not discerning the Lord's body.
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For this reason, many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
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For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
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But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with
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the world.
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Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
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But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment.
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And the rest I will set in order when I come.
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So verse 31, you see the word judge twice.
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For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
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And those two words judge are two different words.
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The first word judge is from a Greek word in which if I say these fast, I'm not a Greek
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scholar by no means, but I've got an inner linear Bible that I can look up words and
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things like that.
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If I say them fast, you won't know that I'm mispronouncing them.
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But diakrino, which means to distinguish or to discern, or basically to evaluate according
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to a standard, which is the definition of, again, criticize.
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And then the second word translated judge, krino, means to condemn, as in like the court
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of law is what the definition says.
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So this is why you might have a translation, depends on what you have, that says if we
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examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way, or we would not be condemned
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by God.
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So Paul says that if we criticize or judge our own attitude, is what he's talking about
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in the context here, and conduct ourselves in worship carefully according to the standard
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that he is teaching them in the context of this, he's saying this is what the Lord's
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Supper is really about, and I'm teaching you what it really is, and you need to examine
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your own selves, criticize yourself in this way, and then if you do that, you would not
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be condemned for your poor conduct.
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So Paul here in this example and why I brought you here is to me showing a great use of criticism.
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The point of legitimate criticism is to identify and remove what is lacking and what is flawed
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with the goal, and again this goes back to the motive, was one of the things that was
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mentioned of what should we think about, with the goal of restoring to what is best according
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to that acceptable standard.
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So Paul is giving instructions here on the Lord's Supper, and he's saying here's the
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standard, this is what it's for, maybe this is what y'all are doing, you need to look
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at yourself, you need to criticize your own self, you need to make a judgment based upon
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the standard, why are you doing what you're doing, and you need to maybe change why you're
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doing what you're doing, maybe change how it is you're going about doing what you're
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doing so that you're back towards what the standard is, because what would happen if
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Paul wasn't critical with the Corinthians about this?
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What would have happened if he didn't criticize them about what they were doing for the Lord's
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Supper?
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Yeah, they would have just kept doing what they were doing, because to them that was
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what they were doing.
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They thought that that was perhaps the right way to go about doing it or whatever it was,
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they didn't know maybe what the standard was or they had deviated from it to the point
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where they had forgot what it was, whatever it was, they weren't doing what they were
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supposed to be doing, and Paul criticized them about it, and he says this is what you're
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supposed to do right here, this is how you're supposed to go about doing that, if he didn't
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criticize them they would have just gone on taking the Lord's Supper in an inappropriate
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way.
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So in the same way if we don't criticize ourselves, and sometimes even if we don't criticize others
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whenever the opportunity is presented to us because we know the standard, we also have
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knowledge on it, we have the right motives, we have all those things, if we just say well
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we can't be critical, so that's why I'm starting out this before we get into the other side
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of things, there are times when we need to be critical.
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So at the end of this class don't think I'm not supposed to ever say anything to anybody
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because I don't want to seem critical, it's when we're overly critical is the problem,
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all this is to point out there is a time for legitimate criticism because if we don't criticize
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ourselves when we're given a standard to evaluate ourselves by or others, then everyone's just
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going to keep on doing what's right in their own eyes, even if maybe it's because they
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don't know any better, but if we don't tell them differently, then that's the way it's
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going to continue to be.
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So that's legitimate, again, just to make the point that that is the case, there are
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legitimate times, now let's talk about illegitimate, or times in which we probably shouldn't be
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critical because if we're a person who is overly critical, there is again a likely chance
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that we have this type of criticism in our back pocket, this type of criticism that we
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shouldn't be doing with others, and if you struggle with it, you can hopefully start
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asking by the end of this class, or as you go to be critical, start asking is this a
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legitimate criticism or is this something I probably just shouldn't say, or I should
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keep to myself, I should remove these thoughts, all those kinds of things.
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So biblical forms of illegitimate criticism, if legitimate criticism is based on having
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knowledge, a standard, then guess what illegitimate criticism doesn't have?
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Knowledge and a standard.
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So if we're being critical without having knowledge or a standard, what are we really
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being critical with?
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This is usually the case most of the time, when we're being critical about something
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and I don't care if it's the color of curtains, the temperature of the room, whatever it is,
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what are we really being critical with if we don't have a standard?
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Our opinion, somebody said.
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Anything else?
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Yeah, it was his opinion about him.
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So it's our opinion.
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Someone said it in the back, I don't know who it was, but they're brilliant back there,
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whoever you are.
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Somebody yelled it out.
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But many hide their criticism behind the comment that they're giving an opinion.
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This is what I think about this, or this is how I feel about this.
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Maybe it's even I know nothing about the situation, I know nothing about this type of problem,
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I know nothing about this person even, but let me tell you what I think about it.
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You know, if that's how it's starting out, there's a pretty good chance it's going to
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be illegitimate criticism.
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Someone might even say, I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but it's just my opinion.
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But you know what you're really saying there?
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My opinion is you're wrong.
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I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but let me tell you my opinion, which is the opposite
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of what you feel about it, which means my opinion means I feel like you're wrong.
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Yes, you don't.
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It's a pride thing sometimes.
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That overly critical person has a pride problem as well.
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It's part of it.
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Because of that, it's almost as if I'm never wrong type of thing.
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So if I don't have knowledge or a standard for the basis of my criticism, it's really
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better for me not to give criticism or an opinion on those matters.
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You're going to be better off not to, because you don't really have anything that you're
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basing what you're saying about.
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It's really best to remain silent.
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Proverbs 1728, I think I've even used this, mentioned this verse a couple times.
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Gary has his version, and I don't see if Gary is in here this morning, I don't see him.
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His was keep your mouth shut.
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But even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise.
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Proverbs 1728.
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Criticism without knowledge.
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So if you don't really know the situation, it's pretty hard to be critical about it,
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right?
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Or it should be.
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It's not hard to be critical about it, it's pretty hard to be legitimately critical about
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it.
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And also if I don't have a standard, then it's really called ignorance.
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That's what it means to be ignorant about something, is I don't know anything about
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this.
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But yet for some reason we feel like we need to input what we think would be right in that
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situation sometimes.
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For whatever reason, that's what we like to do, and it's us being critical of the matter
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even though it's really just an opinion.
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So the best thing maybe we can do to help ourselves from being overly critical is learn
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to remain silent when we don't really have knowledge about whatever that situation is
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or any kind of standard on that situation.
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You know, there's a similar point over in John chapter 7 that Jesus is making, if you
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want to turn to John chapter 7, verses 21 through 24.
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And Jesus answered and said to them, I did one work, and you all marvel.
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Moses therefore gave you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers,
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and you circumcised a man on the Sabbath.
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If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses should not be broken,
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are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?
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Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
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He says in verse 21 there, Jesus said, I did one work, and you all marvel.
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Even though there are a lot of verses between this and that, most, if you read, are going
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to say this one work was the healing of the lame man back in John chapter 5, verses 1
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through 9, who Jesus healed on the Sabbath, which makes point, or makes sense.
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It's in the context of this, even though it seems like it's a couple chapters back or
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whatever it might be, which is why the rest of the verses in chapter, again, 7, makes
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sense in verse 22 and from there on out.
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Moses therefore gave you circumcision, not that it's from Moses, but from the fathers,
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and you circumcised a man on the Sabbath.
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If a man receives circumcision so that the law is not broken, why are you angry with
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me that I healed a man on the Sabbath?
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So he healed a man on the Sabbath back in Matthew chapter 5, or John chapter 5, but
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then verse 24, do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
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What's Jesus saying there in verse 24?
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Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
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Don't judge based on what you think it looks like, or based on how you feel about things,
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because the Jewish leader's opinion was that on the eighth day, if it fell on the Sabbath,
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the physical act or work of circumcision was to be done because the law of Moses commanded
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it, and that's based on the fact that Leviticus 12.3, the standard, said this is what's to
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be done on the eighth day.
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This is what's to happen.
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And if it falls on the Sabbath, then they made the decision of, hey, we still got to
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do this because it's the eighth day, whether it's the Sabbath or whatever it might be.
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So some things in the Jewish leader's mind surpassed the no work on the Sabbath law.
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They had opinions on the matters of, these things fit into the category, if this happens
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on the Sabbath, we still got to do it.
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But then they had other things that, well, if you do this on the Sabbath, no, that's
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not good.
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But it also appears that their opinion about the miraculous healing was not one of those
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things and should have not been done on the Sabbath by Jesus, so much that in John 5.16,
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after Jesus did it, it said they sought to kill him because he had done these things
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on the Sabbath.
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And what Jesus is saying is do not judge, do not criticize things based on what you
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think it looks like.
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Judge or criticize based on what is right, again, according to the standard.
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If you don't have that, you need to go back to Proverbs 17.
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You might want to not say anything.
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You might want to just keep your mouth shut.
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You might want to close your lips.
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If you don't have the standard, if it's not going to be a righteous judgment, if you're
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just going to judge things based upon your opinion and things like that, that's when
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it's going to get you into trouble.
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So the next thing would be hypocritical, which Andy mentioned, and then harsh.
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But again, harsh, sometimes that's necessary, but there's also a harshness that's not.
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So again, remember legitimate criticism has a standard, knowledge on the subject, and
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is unbiased.
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However, again, some of the most damaging criticisms usually given by somebody who might
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know the standard, might even have some knowledge on the standard, but what keeps it illegitimate
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and not good is the fact that it's not unbiased.
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Anyone in here perfect?
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Nobody's perfect.
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Perfection's not possible.
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It's oftentimes easier for us to look around, see some bad in some other people if we want
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to.
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We don't have to look far sometimes.
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And for some reason, it's easy for us to find flaws in other people and not see it in our
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own selves.
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We'll be harshly critical of things that we see other people doing whenever we might even
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be doing the same exact things, but in our minds it's different the way that we're doing
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it.
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We'll make up a thing that says it's different, what I'm doing is totally different than what
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this person's doing.
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That's wrong.
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Did you have something, Kevin?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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There is a right way, right time, right place, right things in which we sometimes have to
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be critical about things.
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And we need to make sure that we're fitting into that category.
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Yes.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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And we'll oftentimes be very critical of people, even in a condemning way a lot of times, whenever
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in all reality, I'm deserving of condemnation the same as everyone else is.
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That's what we're all deserving of.
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I'm just deserving of it, maybe in a different reason for why you are, but we'll look at
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the other people's reason and say that's definitely worse than what mine is.
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That's just what we do.
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I don't know why we do it, but that's what we do.
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Sometimes we're a lot harsher with people than we are with ourselves.
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That's what we do.
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Again, I can't tell you why we do it, I just know that that's what I do anyways.
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I guess I don't need to say we, but that's what I do.
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It's very easy for me to be very critical of other people in a way that I'm nowhere
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near the same about with my own self.
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Sometimes when we see an opportunity to speak about others' imperfections, we become, and
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this is probably really going to date myself as far as the last time I watched American
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Idol, but we become like a Simon Cowell type of judge on the American Idol.
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You know how, again, I don't watch it now, I have no idea what they do now, but you always
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have the one judge who is, oh, everything you do is great, no matter who it is that's
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up there is great, and then you usually got somebody in the middle that's a little balanced
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and then it didn't matter what you did, Simon Cowell was going to tell you that you weren't
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really any good.
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Even if you were kind of good, he was going to say something along the lines of, you were
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maybe the best of the worst or something like that.
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Everything he said was kind of negative and always kind of in that tone, but we need to
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make sure that we aren't necessarily like a, just harsh in the sense of condemnation
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towards people and criticizing other people, because again, we all have our own faults.
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None of us, we've just said it, none of us are perfect as well, so condemning criticism
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towards someone is the type of evaluation that's always framed in negative terms, and
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I think this is what Jesus, if you want to turn to Matthew chapter 7, that's what he's
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talking about right here.
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Matthew chapter 7, the world's favorite verse, beginning in verse 1.
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I always thought to myself, I think John 3, 16 might be the world's favorite verse, that's
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what you see at all the ball games and all those things, but most of the time I think
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that that's Christian people holding up that sign and things like that.
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But I think Matthew 7, verse 1, based on my experiences, the world's favorite verse.
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Jesus says, judge not that you be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, you will
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be judged, and with what measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
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And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your
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own eye?
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Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the speck from your eye, and look,
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a plank is in your own eye?
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Hypocrite.
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First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the
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speck from your brother's eye.
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So what is Jesus saying in these verses?
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Is he doing what the world says here and forbidding all judgment and criticisms?
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Because that's what they'll say.
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They'll say, you can't tell me what I'm doing is right or wrong, you can't judge me, doesn't
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your Bible say, judge not?
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What's Jesus saying here?
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Is he saying you just need to tolerate everything?
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You need to be okay with all sorts of social and moral misconduct and don't say a word
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about it?
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Yeah, Andy?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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If you're being hypocritical in your judgments, it's going to cost you a lot of money.
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It's going to cost, what's the goal going to come from that other than them saying,
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who do you think you are, you know, type of thing.
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So what Jesus is saying, verse one and two, judge not that you be not judged, for with
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what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured
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back to you, is you better be careful how you judge.
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He didn't say don't ever judge.
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You need to be careful because you're also going to be judged.
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What he's really almost saying to me is you better know that standard, remember I said
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you need to know the standard, you need to have knowledge, you need to be unbiased.
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You better know the standard yourself that you're applying, because you're applying a
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standard to someone else, you better be careful because there's going to be a judgment for
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you as well.
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You better know that before you go saying that before, if we are going to be critical
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people, you basically, he's saying to me, you may want to make sure you're starting
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with yourself.
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And remember I said it's sometimes we don't do that.
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It's very easy for me to look around a crowd full of people and say, man, look at this
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and look at that, instead of me holding up a mirror and saying, you know, look at that.
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It's very easy for us to do that.
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So he's saying, you better start with yourself and realize there might be a little bit of
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work for you to do, maybe even more so before you go and be critical of others.
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And because verse three and four, he says, and why do you look at the speck in your brother's
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eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye, or how can you say to your brother,
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let me remove the speck from your eye and look, there's a plank in your own eye.
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Jesus saying, don't judge with a log.
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Don't judge with a beam, a plank, whatever translation it is that you've got, which would
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be a bias.
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Whether it's a prejudice, whether it's ignorance, whether it's your negative attitude, whatever
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it is, don't judge with a bias in your eye, because if you're unbiased, you're going to
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likely judge incorrectly.
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That's what's going to happen.
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Who do you think you are type of statement?
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Who are you to condemn another whenever you do the same thing or worse?
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I think I've read that somewhere else.
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I always picture a conversation with this, that is someone saying, what you're doing
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is wrong.
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Like me walking up to someone and having a conversation and say, let me tell you what
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you're doing is wrong and let me tell you what you need to do about it.
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Whenever I haven't quit doing the same exact thing, or maybe I'm even doing something far
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worse, but yet I feel like I need to be critical of someone of whatever that situation is.
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That's why Jesus says in verse five, hypocrite.
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First remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck
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from your brother's eye.
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First evaluate yourself and this will enable you to recognize and eliminate that log, that
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bias that you might have so that you can actually render a fair and accurate criticism.
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You're going to have better judgment and be a better help to somebody if you've worked
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through your own problem to help somebody else with maybe that same problem.
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Just as we mentioned in the beginning, judgment and criticism has its place.
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There is a such thing as a righteous judgment.
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There is a such thing as wanting to do what's best for someone and wanting to actually cause
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them to change their ways like what Paul was doing with the Lord's Supper, all those kinds
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of things.
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Sometimes even harsh criticism has its place.
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That's what Paul was doing with the Corinthians.
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I guess it's probably a whole other lesson on maybe how to deliver that criticism, but
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sometimes it's needed.
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But Jesus is telling us that when we minimize our own faults to magnify other people's faults,
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we are being a hypocritical criticizer.
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We have a beam in our eye.
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We've got a log in our eye, a plank in our eye.
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You need to do something about that.
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You need to remove that because you're not looking at yourself and you're only being
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critical of others.
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Yes?
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Criticism.
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And I think that's a hard one to learn because our job is correct and never criticize.
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And again, we do.
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And there is a such thing, again, as constructive criticism.
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Basically, what I'm trying to get to in this class, I guess, is, because I don't want it
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to ever, as I was thinking about it and I started out, I didn't even have like the top
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half and I'm like, well, I don't want it to seem like, because sometimes, again, I think
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as Christians, especially the world almost tells us because they use this verse, judge
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not lest you be judged, and we feel like we can't go around and say things are wrong or
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say things are, because I don't want to seem judgy.
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I don't want to seem critical.
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But there's things where if we see it and it's wrong based on the standard and we have
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knowledge of the standard and we actually want what's best for somebody and all those
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things and all the things that go along with that, we're not unbiased.
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We're not being hypocritical.
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Then it's our place to go and say things to people if we care about them and all those
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kinds of things like that.
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But it is a hard line to figure out exactly how to go about doing it sometimes with the
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right motives, the right attitudes, and all those kinds of things.
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And another thing I think we need to be careful of is not being a, and this kind of fits in
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more to the overly critical, is being a constant criticizer.
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And I think if we are a constant criticizer, then it points to a bigger problem that we
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might have.
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Because some people just judge and criticize because that's what they do.
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Criticism is their main form of communication, the main way that they express themselves.
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Russell had a good devo several Wednesdays ago kind of along these lines.
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And it's as if they're compelled sometimes to judge and critique every experience they
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have and person they meet.
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You know, they don't like the color of anything.
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No food tastes good whenever they go out to eat.
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It doesn't matter.
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The service is horrendous.
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The temperature in the room, it's too hot, it's too cold.
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People are always wrong all the time.
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And there's two problems with that.
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Shadona hit on one of them.
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What are the two problems?
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If you're a constant criticizer, what are the two main problems?
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I'm sure there's probably other problems, but I've got two in my mind.
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You might have something else too.
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What are the main problems with someone who, that's them, in a nutshell?
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You're going to drive people away.
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You're not shining your light for Christ.
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Not a grateful person.
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No joy in their life.
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Not people to wrath, just in general.
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Not to be a person who wants to stir up things in a sense.
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Not one person in this room has the knowledge, is kind of what Chuck was saying a minute
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ago, to legitimately criticize everybody and everyone.
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Like none of us know everything.
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Like there's not a single one of us that know everything about everything.
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So I can't very well criticize everything unless I know everything about everything.
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There's only one person who has the authority to be in that seat, and that's God.
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So it becomes a pride thing, like what Shadona said.
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If I'm an overly critical person, I'm a prideful person who thinks I know everything and everything
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is my way's the best way.
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So along those lines, that's a big problem.
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We don't know everything.
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And then the second thing, Jesus hits it, we're running out of time.
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So the end of Luke 6, 45, he says, for out of the abundance of the heart, a mouth speaks.
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He says, for a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, an evil man
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out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.
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But for out of the abundance of a heart, a person's heart, his mouth speaks.
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Kind of what Harold said about there's no joy, there's no, if your heart is just critical,
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and if you're overly critical, if everything you do is critical, that's your heart.
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That means you've got a bigger internal problem than just being critical.
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It's like there's something within you that's causing you to be that way.
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Outward criticism is a symptom of an internal problem.
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If we're a constant criticizer, that may need to be assigned to us that we might have some
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work to do within ourselves.
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So if we fall into any of these, we'll cover this real fast, we have some work to do, maybe
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you can ask yourselves these questions, do I often find fault in others?
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Do people feel encouraged or do they feel drained after they talk to me?
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Would others describe me as gracious or would others describe me as critical?
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Those are all things that if you ask yourself, you don't want to be on one side of those,
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but you might need to ask yourself those things.
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Some verses to keep in mind before we criticize, we'll close with these, Colossians 4, 6.
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Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought
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to answer each one.
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So ask this before speaking, will it be helpful?
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Is it kind?
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Am I looking to extend grace or am I just wanting to point out a fault and make myself
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feel better, make this person feel bad?
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Is that my motive behind those things?
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Galatians 6, 1-5, brethren, if a man has overtaken any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore
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such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, let also you be tempted, bear one
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another's burdens, fulfill the law of Christ, for if anyone thinks himself to be something
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when he is nothing, he deceives himself, but let each one examine his own work, and
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then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another, for each shall bear his
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own load.
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If I see something that I feel needs to be criticized, even if it's against the standard,
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even if it's a sin, Paul's saying you need to approach that in the spirit of gentleness.
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If instead I want to criticize so I can thank myself to be something, is what he's saying,
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I'm deceiving myself, and you've actually got a beam or a log in your eye, and you need
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to take care of that.
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And then the last thing, Ephesians 4, 29-32, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth
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but what is good for necessary edification that it may impact grace to the hearers, we've
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used that verse over the last several Sundays, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom
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you were sealed for the day of redemption, let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor,
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evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, be kind to one another, tender-hearted,
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forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you.
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Are you wanting to build that person up?
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Is that the reason why you're wanting to be critical, or are you wanting to hurt them?
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That's a question you should ask.
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Are you being kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving?
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Again, sometimes it's a hard conversation to have with someone, but if your motive is
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right, that's one of the key things you need to look at.
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Am I wanting to be gracious, or am I wanting to be contemptuous?
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That's what you've got to ask sometimes.
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So remember, Jesus was full of truth, but he was also full of grace.
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Sometimes when we're being critical, we need to make sure that we're extending the same
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grace that we would want to be extended to us.
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Appreciate your thoughts and comments.
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We're going to talk about money, the struggles with money, next Sunday.