Criticism – Part 1 — Morning Devotions

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Isn’t it true that criticism begins at an early age? Have you criticised anyone lately? Probably we’ve all been criticised or we’ve criticised others, and youngsters, children, they’re not immune to criticism either. Now what an amazing subject this is.

Criticism – what does God have to say about it?

I remember Winston Churchill said that criticism may not be agreeable, but it’s necessary because it fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. That’s quite true. Sometimes if you’ve been criticised, it was something that could have been beneficial to you when you’ve got over the hurt, that is, and I think each of us have come to the place in our lives where we like criticism that’s valid. It may not be, something we want to hear because in the long run it can enable us to grow and to mature.

The ancient stories told of a father and son walking along one day with their donkey behind them, and, soon they met a man who told them how foolish they were. Why don’t you ride the donkey? And so they accepted that that they both got on and rode on the journey. And so they hadn’t gone very far when another man criticised them for both of them riding the donkey. They were too heavy, he said. So one boy got off and walked, and the father rode the donkey, and a third person came along and said, you know, this doesn’t make any sense. You’re so inconsiderate. How? Because you’ve made your son walk, so they switched places. The boy rode. The father walked, and soon they met a fourth person. ‘You know, the son is not being very thoughtful of the father. You should respect your elderly parents. You should be the one that’s walking.’ And so the last time they were seen, the father and the son were both carrying the donkey themselves. Now, that’s not a true story, but you get my point.

I don’t know if you’ve ever done this, but have you ever said something when it rolled out of your mouth and you think, if I could just get that back and stick it back in my mouth, why did I say that? You know what I’m talking about, that the words that we use don’t always have the effect we want. Sometimes we say things and we wonder, I shouldn’t have actually said that. And, sometimes the words are interpreted wrongly and sometimes we don’t know what to say and we choose words that are sometimes harmful.

And there are the mistakes that we all make. Well, we’re not perfect. Even with the best of intentions, we still get messed up with our words, and even our best friends can get hurt because of criticism. So I’m talking today and again tomorrow about these hurtful words that come out of our mouth. For example, in a fit of rage you can say, I wish you were never born. You’re such a loser. I hate you. Or in the case of a married couple, I wish I’d never married you. You’re stupid.

What were you thinking? Like these things are the nuts and bolts of life. People who criticise others often don’t realise the damage that they’re doing, so I think we have to be very careful. So let’s look at ways that criticism reveals itself, and I think the first way is through jealousy. Actually, that’s what the Bible says in Proverbs 14:30. Here’s what it says – A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

So I want you to imagine, just kind of picture the inside of your body, if it was rotting away. I think that’s what the writer was trying to say, rather graphic, I know, but envy and jealousy, they can rot away the spirit and the soul and turn us into critical, negative, bitter people. I hope that you’re not like that.

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So it can start in a small way. Someone who has an old car, for example, buys a new car and he rings you and says I’m coming over. I want to show you my new car. So your friend pulls in the driveway, shows you this new car, but you’re feeling a bit jealous about this great car, he says. But I wonder about the colour. What, why did you pick that colour? Yes, it’s a criticism, and that person can feel quite offended and upset.

And sometimes criticism can reveal itself through jealousy, and I want to take this a bit further again tomorrow.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, we do understand how easy it is to criticise, Lord, when we shouldn’t. So just give us the patience and the peace and the understanding to say the right thing. Amen.

Criticism – Part 2 — Morning Devotions