A Critical Spirit

Criticism:  To judge as a critic; to find fault; to blame or condemn

One of the easiest things to do is to be critical of other people.  We have all been guilty of being fault-finding and tearing down others with our words, thoughts and actions.  Some people harbor a larger spirit of criticality than others.  Those with a very critical spirit usually dwell on negativity and look for the faults in others rather than looking for the good.  These people are frequently upset and generally always have something that they are complaining about.  Control over the tongue and temper are found to be difficult.

What about constructive criticism?  The only true constructive criticism is the kind that is expressed out of love and builds a person up and does not tear them down.  It is always expressed face to face and never behind the other person’s back.

SO WHAT CAUSES A CRITICAL SPIRIT?

Negativity - Having a negative view of life and a bad attitude can certainly cause us to be critical.

Insecurity - Insecurity can cause a critical spirit.  Insecurity makes you feel rotten about yourself.  In putting others down, we are attempting to feel more important than others.  It gives us a feeling of superiority.  Jealousy is often the cause of criticism.  We don’t feel quite so bad when we are tearing someone else down.

Immaturity - Immaturity in our belief with Christ can cause us to notice the flaws in others.  Believers must always keep their focus on Christ and His Word, not man, who will often fail.  Man cannot live up to our expectations.  Criticism becomes a reaction of disappointment, because our expectations in others have been crushed.

Walking in the Flesh – A critical person is walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit.  Rather than drawing upon the Lord for strength and perspective, the critical person relies upon his or her own resources.  Cynicism quenches the Spirit, directing us to walk by sight, not by faith.  Spirit filled Christians will fundamentally be people of hope because of the great God we serve.  A fleshy person will be one of despair.

Hiding from our sins – It is far easier to see other’s sins rather than our own.  Those who are judgmental hide from their own failures.  How aware are we, when seeing another’s sins, that we ourselves are capable of the very same things?  We are all sinners.

Bitterness – Bitterness develops when we fail to forgive other and we become angry, bitter and resentful.  Our ability to live healthy, happy, harmonious lives is largely related to our willingness and ability to consistently forgive and ask for forgiveness.

Different points in our walk - Even mature Christians may have areas of their lives where they struggle and where they need to grow.  We must remember that every Christian has not progressed to the same point.  We want everybody to be right where we all are, and they aren't, and never will be. We are all on a journey and we are all at different places.  We may be ahead of some but are behind others.  We have to give people room to grow and not beat them down.  We cannot be critical of others in their place in their walk with Christ, because we too, are not fully there yet.  We are all works in progress.

Our thinking and attitude should be renewed by the Word of God, which teaches us to bear the infirmities of the weak.  We should show love, compassion and encouragement to others rather than putting them down or being sarcastic to their faults.

Satan “the accuser of brethren” - Satan specializes in influencing bad behavior.  He will use the aforementioned tactics (one, many or all) to influence a critical attitude to stir up turmoil.  The devil is in sheer delight when he sees believers accusing and condemning one another.  We must be on guard that we do not allow Satan to use us as a tool to bring discouragement upon others through criticism.

WHAT DOES A CRITICAL SPIRIT ACCOMPLISH?

Nothing; nothing at all.  A critical spirit displeases the Lord.  It defiles you and makes you feel dirty.  It defiles others.  It destroys relationships and friendships.  It doesn't solve problems.

There is something very damaging about a critical spirit.  Over time, it prevents us from seeing and appreciating all that is truly good in the word and all that God is actively doing in our lives and the lives around us.  Critical people don’t just hurt themselves; they are affecting others as well.

WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY?

“10 So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.’”  12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.”  (Romans 14:10-13 NLT)

Scripture tells us not to tear down others through criticism or judgment.

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,[d] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5 NLT)

We tend to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions.  The truth is, we cannot rightly judge anyone else, as we do not know the contents of their heart.  We should be content to judge only ourselves.  We should seek to bring our own lives in alignment with Christ and God’s Word.

WHAT IS THE ANTIDOTE?

We must open our eyes to see two truths – the depth of our own sin and the amazing grace of God’s love toward us in Christ.  God can open our eyes to see ourselves as we truly are…sinners.  We desperately need to feel our own sin and God’s grace and forgiveness.  We must submit to God.

We must realize that we can never know with 100% certainty another person’s motives.  We can see their actions, but not their hearts.  Only God can see their heart and only his judgment is accurate and fair.

When we are bothered by the actions of another, we must pray.  We must pray for both the person as well as our response to them and their actions.  We should channel the energy we would have spent on criticism into prayer instead.

We should capture all negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts.  Negative thoughts may come into your mind, but you and you alone have the ability to keep those thoughts from passing through your lips as words.  Control your thoughts, control your tongue.  Ask God for his assistance in keeping all your thoughts, words and actions obedient to Christ.

We must be encouragers.  We should genuinely build up others and help them become all that they can become.  An encouraging attitude is the only attitude that will change people.  Our actions and words must be devoted to encouragement.  Our tongues should only be used for good.

Are you a habitual fault-finder?  Are you a constant critic of people and things around you?  If so, learn to free yourself from a negative and critical attitude.  Doing so will improve your emotional and mental health.  The Bible doesn't promise peace to those who dwell on the faults of others.  It says that the Lord will keep them in peace, whose minds are stayed on Him!

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT)

Instead of seeing only the downside of the people and situations around us, let us pray for the ability to see what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of others.