*** Writer's note I never write from a position of superiority. As I hope God ministers to you, He does to me as I write. I find myself fighting the urge within me to be critical as well. I try to maintain The Apostle Paul's perspective - of these, I am the least. Blessings to all. ***

The Critical Spirit

Romans 14: 10-13: You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

There is an old saying: "We tend to judge others by their actions, and we judge ourselves by our intentions." While the world is famous for this mantra, the church also finds itself susceptible to the critical spirit. We all know the critical spirit. That brother or sister who seems intent on finding a cloud in every silver lining. Who finds it easier to apply the Word of God to the lives of others than their own. Who deals with matters of the faults of others, perhaps even questioning the salvation of others, and who finds reasons to tear down rather than build up. This is the person who can destroy a church from the inside out, criticizing matters God has not put them in charge of, with little insight into the matters to which they speak so freely. Criticizing the Pastor, ministry leaders, or the direction they feel the church might be heading in. Criticizing others, even friends or neighbors. It is important to define the critical spirit, to understand it, and to remedy it. Because the truth is we are all susceptible at times to having a critical spirit.

The dictionary defines criticism as:

The act of passing severe judgment; censure; faultfinding.

The critical spirit is engaged in the process of fault finding. It seeks to assign blame. To censure is to express vehement disapproval; also part of the critical spirit. It adds up to being judgmental; sitting in the place of God. In the Book of Job we see the critical spirit at work in the friends Job has. Despite losing everything he owned and having all ten of his children killed, Job did not blame God. God gave and God took away. Despite being afflicted with sores all over his body, Job did not sin in accusing God. Job did however defend his righteousness, saying that he had done no grievous wrong to deserve what had befallen him. His friends however disagreed and surmised that if he was afflicted so severely it must be punishment for sin:

"Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you? Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked. You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, though you were a powerful man, owning land-- an honored man, living on it. And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you. Job 22: 4-11

With friends like these, who needs enemies? The friends of Job would be proved wrong in their accusations and God would have Job pray for them and would restore Job. The critical spirit that attacked him was wrong and usually it is still wrong today. Because it operates from a position of ignorance. Job's friends assumed the affliction was Job's fault. They judged his heart based on outward evidence. They knew nothing of the heart of Job. They knew nothing of his faithfulness to God. They knew nothing of the conversations God had with Satan that allowed the testing of Job. Yet they criticized anyway. That is what the critical spirit does. It sees the tip of an iceberg and thinks it understands everything that lies below the surface.

Understanding the critical spirit is equally important. First, it is outward directed. The sad truth is that the person with a critical spirit is usually not happy with themselves. The focus on the wrongs of someone else prevents them from having to look at themselves and their own walk. The Bible tells us however we are to do the opposite:

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? 2Corinthians 13:5

The critical spirit does not examine itself because it will not like what it finds. So it focuses on others. It is a spirit rooted in negativity always seeking what is wrong. They compare their plight in life to what others receive and may feel bitterness for it. The brother of the prodigal son had this spirit. Not happy that his brother returned safely, instead his critical spirit reveals that his motives for staying with his father were not even pure. We do not labor for God to seek reward here on earth. We already have our reward in heaven.

In understanding the critical spirit we must remember that the enemy is a master at influencing this type of behavior. He is after all the accuser:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Revelation 12:10

The devil stands day and night accusing us before God. The critical spirit accuses also. The result is to stir up trouble within the body of Christ. The enemy must be laughing at all of the disunity within the body today. I am not speaking of matters of real doctrinal importance. We always must adhere to the entire teaching of the Bible. I am speaking about the petty differences that cause division, animosity, gossip and slander. We forget the warnings from Proverbs:

It is foolish to belittle one's neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet. - Proverbs 12:11 (NLT)

Sometimes there is a lack of sensibility within the body of Christ and the critical spirit can take over. Because of our natural born penchant for sin, we would prefer to hear bad news than good. We would rather hear about someone's struggles because innately it makes us feel a little bit better about what we struggle with. The "at least I am not that person" syndrome.

Lastly in understanding the critical spirit we must realize that the goal is discouragement. It may be dressed up with good intentions. I have seen countless times prayer used as an excuse to gossip. I have heard self righteous reasons why a criticism was being leveled. The truth remains that the goal of the critical spirit is to discourage us. I have seen the results of discouragement lead to people forsaking church altogether. That is exactly what the enemy wants however because it is easier to work on you alone than when you are around people of like faith. Ecclesiastes teaches us:

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4: 12

As humans we can tend to focus on the negative more than the positive. Just watch the evening news. But remember for every critical spirit there are more encouraging ones as well. We should not forsake the fellowship of the brethren:

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

And the day is approaching. Jesus is coming back for His church. Between now and then we are charged with a work and the enemy will use anything to make us ineffectual for the work God has called us to do. The critical spirit is just one weapon he uses.

What is the remedy then? What do we do when we encounter the critical spirit or when we become it? When encountering the critical spirit we must be steadfast in not enabling it. We can sometimes be too polite and allow slander or gossip a place to foment. Gossip has no place in the lives of believers and listening to gossip is just as bad as spreading gossip:

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts. Proverbs 18:8

The inmost part Solomon is referring to in this Proverb is the heart. This verse speaks not only against gossip but against listening to gossip. It poisons your heart. Instead of allowing gossip or criticism a place at our table, we must respond positively and with love. We also need to pray for the person who is exhibiting the critical spirit and treat them with love as Peter exhorts us:

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1Peter 4: 7-8

And if we find ourselves in the cycle of criticism, we need to repent. We need to acknowledge it and turn from it. The key verses from above remind us that we are to not look down on our brothers and sisters, think less of them, judge them, or place obstacles in their way. Criticism is a stumbling block. We must seek to edify the body not tear it apart from the inside out. The secret antidote to criticism is humility. We must remember how far down Christ had to go to get us. We must remember that we only have righteousness through Christ. It is hard to think critically of someone when we remember how wretched we truly are.

Lastly, let us not confuse being watchful and responsible for our brethren with criticism. I am not suggesting that we are to ignore sin. Jesus taught:

So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." Luke 17: 3-4

We are to correct our brothers and sisters but look at the critical differences between a correction and a criticism. A correction deals with a sin issue. Something that is contrary to the Word of God. Criticism usually deals with a more petty matter a matter of personal disagreement. Something that is usually not Biblically supported. Correction allows forgiveness criticism is unforgiving in nature. Correction is done one on one with the person who has erred. Criticism is usually done in the shadows behind their back. It takes the form of gossip or is usually done in a crowd. Correction is done with love criticism is done with bitterness or malice. The goals of correction is to bring the person back in line with Scripture and make the person feel better about themselves the purpose of criticism is make the criticizer feel better about themselves. Correction is a God thing criticism is of the flesh.

We will all stand in judgment one day before a holy God. Don't be quick to deal in judgment now. It feeds the flesh, empowers the enemy and destroys the body. It is a stumbling block to people and a cancer in the church. Remember the words of Peter:

... All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
    "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1Peter 5:5

Let us all love one another. Correct with an eye toward forgiveness but criticize not.

Reverend Anthony Wade August 18, 2009