Criticism – Part 2 — Morning Devotions

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Criticism – Part 1 — Morning Devotions

And your wife. She might have a really nice meal for you, but you forget that your wife actually has been working hard herself all day. Now she knows you’re coming home and she thinks, well, I’m going to get dinner ready, I know that he’s been working hard. So that when you come home, you see the kids and you see that the living room’s a bit cluttered and there’s the laundry basket over there with clean clothes – they haven’t been folded.

And you’d look at your wife and say, what have you been doing all day? You know, I go out and I work hard so that you can be at home, I come home to this mess. What in the world’s going on? So your wife is totally crushed and upset by your criticism. You’re just chipping away at her. So isn’t it true, you know, that sometimes this negativity can really hurt people? Now linked to negativity and criticism is that awful word sarcasm. sarcasm. It’s the most deceiving of all the forms of criticism. We think we’re being funny. It doesn’t hurt anybody, we tell ourselves. Nobody really believes that stuff. They don’t feel it. Little jabs. Now these are the things that do hurt people, the little sarcastic comments. They might be cute and funny, but they are chipping away. And sometimes, as I’ve said before in this program, we forget about the power of our words. We think it’s harmless, but it’s actually hurting people. Criticism can reveal itself in so many ways. It’s sometimes through jealousy, negativity, sarcasm.

Criticism – the power of words

And I think we need to learn to speak words of life, you know, the Bible talks about this, words that actually build people up and encourage them instead of criticising other people. What does the Bible say about this? The Bible actually is quite clear that our words have great power. What I say and what you say can actually be used for good or bad. There are lots of passages. You can have a look some time at Matthew 12:35-36, and it talks about the fact that our words really reveal who we are deep down. And if evil is in our hearts, well, the words will show that. But if there’s goodness in our hearts, then the good words will come out.

And so we need to give an account. If you have a look at that, Matthew 12:35 to 36, we will give an account one day for the very words that we speak, and for some of us that can be a bit scary. I like Proverbs. It’s such a practical book to read. Proverbs 12:18 says, reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 18:21. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

And then James 1:26. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. That’s what it says.

Whether we recognise it or not, our words have great power, and I think it’s important. We’re really deceiving ourselves if we think that our words of criticism are not damaging. We might say, well, you deserve that, you had it coming. And that’s how these words of criticism come. We think, well, I’m going to give him or her a piece of my mind. It’s about time someone gave them a piece of their mind, and I’m going to stand up and do it.

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But we have no idea really of the damage that we are doing, and people are like that who constantly criticise others. They don’t realise, and often they’re deceived. As I said, we need to learn to speak words of life. We need to allow God to actually fill our mind, words that are actually encouraging and uplifting, and the Holy Spirit is the one that can help us, and I think we need to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us and empower to us so that we do speak words of life.

Let’s Pray

Dear God, sometimes as we speak, you speak to us, and we’re not listening, and we miss out on blessings. Open our ears to hear your voice, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Criticism – Part 3 — Morning Devotions