2008-09-05
Good Morning Cherished of God,
Last week, we revisited MT 7: 1-5 to take a look at the destructive property of hypocritical judgment. There is still more to examine about that. First, here is the passage itself: “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others , and He will apply to you the same rules you apply to others. Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the log in your eye? How dare you say to your brother, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Some reading this devotion are old enough to remember two incidents in Richard Nixon’s life where criticism played a very negative role in his career. The first one was when Nixon, then a Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower, accepted a gift of a liver and white Springer spaniel puppy, called “Checkers.” The newspaper critics were all over this in their efforts to devalue Nixon’s moral character, accusing him of taking gifts under the table. Nixon got up and told the story of how his two little girls fell in the love with “Checkers” and said, he returned other gifts, but for their sake, the family would keep the little dog. This particular matter used by Nixon’s opponents to devalue him would simply have to stand. The other case happened later in Nixon’s career and is even more reflective of the shallowness upon which some people base their votes. It happened in the debates against John Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. Nixon could never match up to the young, handsome Kennedy’s looks on camera. He sweated under the hot lights, and this could be seen on his upper lip during the debates. Once again, the press swooped down in negative criticism saying Nixon was sweating due to nerves and his lack of authenticity as a candidate for this high office for which the public should vote. While I wasn’t always a fan of Nixon’s actions and decisions, these two criticisms of him were never fair.
We must understand that not all criticism is destructive and unfair. Any criticism leveled must be evaluated with discernment. A good prayer to pray in the face of criticism is PS 119: 125, “I am Your servant; give m understanding, so that I may know Your teachings.” Then, we need to see if EPH 4: 15 is being used. “Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, Who is the Head [of His body, the church]. We don’t want to be “children, carried by the waves and blown about by every shifting wind of the teaching of deceitful men, who lead others into error by the tricks they invent” [EPH 4: 14]. One of the first steps in dealing with criticism is to measure how much truth is in it, taking the truth seriously. A second is to evaluate the critic. If your nosy next door neighbor is telling you your stew needs more of some ingredient, you aren’t going to take that person’s comments quite as seriously as you would a successful chef’s. Paul, himself a competent critic due to his knowledge of and faith in God’s teaching, criticized the Pharisees and teachers of the law in RO 2: 1-2, 17-24. “Do you, my friend pass judgment on others? You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. For when you judge other and then do the same things which they do, you condemn yourself. We know that God is right when He judges the people who do such things as these…What about you? You call yourself a Jew; you depend on the Law and boast about God; you know what God wants you to do, and you have learned from the Law to choose what is right; you are sure that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in darkness, and instructor for the foolish, and a teacher for the ignorant. You are certain that in the Law you have the full content of knowledge and of truth. You teach others-why don’t you teach yourself? You preach, ‘Do not steal’-but do you yourself steal? You say, ‘Do not commit adultery’-but do you bring shame on God by breaking His law? The Scripture [IS 52: 5] says, ‘Because of you Jews, the Gentiles speak evil of God.’” These self-righteous traditional Jews found it too painful to see the truth in what Paul was saying. The net result of not taking Paul seriously was their vary salvation and that of others they could have influenced for God.
Constructive criticism must be done with utmost care. Consider the timing of what is to be said. For example, when a person is grieving the loss of his spouse, give him time to grieve first, then, deal with the issue at hand. Don’t pick a time when the person is preoccupied with other matters or excessively fatigued, unless there is no other choice. Someone I know is struggling with such a problem right now with a boss who is working himself into an early grave, because he doesn’t know how to delegate authority and responsibility to others who can be trusted around him. This is the problem that Jethro, the Midianite priest who was Moses’ father-in-law, observed when he went out into the desert to visit with Moses and his daughter, Zipporah [EX 18: 3-27; DT 1: 9-18]. Avoid incendiary language. For example, if you are speaking to a traditional Jew, don’t use the name, Jesus Christ. Instead, refer to Him as the Lord. If at all possible, know the person or at least where the person is in his faith walk before offering constructive criticism. MT 18: 15-17 outlines a procedure for dealing with a member of a congregation which maximizes the chances of speaking to that person privately first to correct behavior not in keeping with Christ’s teaching that may adversely affect the congregation. Many times this will work for the benefit of the wrongdoer and the congregation. Making judgments isn’t always easy, but if one holds to wise and loving principles from God in doing this, he can make them with fairness and justice.
PRAYER: O Lord, we must bow our heads in utter reverence for Your wisdom and justice in advising us how to handle making ordinary judgments in our lives. You always tell us to pray first. PS 145: 18, “He is near to those who call on Him, who call to Him with sincerity.” If we keep our hearts open to Your teaching, we will have the discernment to make fair judgments in the course of our lives, just as Jethro did with Moses. You know that if we follow Your teaching on these matters, we can avoid needless outbreaks of uncontrolled emotion. When and if this happens, we can also know how to meet it. Where there is anger, the Lord Jesus has taught us, in MT 5: 25, “If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute with him while there is time, before you get to court.” This is wise advise. Earlier in this same passage, we find MT 5: 23-24, “So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.” Our willingness to make peace and live under the wisdom of Your word can be seen in the wonderful promises You make to us. MT 5: 9, “Blessed are the peacemakers; God will call them His children.” JN 15: 7, “If you remain in Me and my words remain in You, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it.” We can realistically claim PS 145: 5-7, “Happy is the man who has the God of Jacob to help him and who depends on the Lord his God, the Creator of heaven, earth, and the sea and all that is in them. He always keeps His promises; He judges in favor of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.” You are a loving, just, and compassionate God Who teaches us everything we need to know to live righteously. Praise be to You, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We pray in Christ’s holy and mighty name. Amen.
Next week, I’m led to write more about constructive godly criticism and judgments. We must learn not to project our own problems upon others, so that will be discussed. In the meanwhile, if we go over the many verses dealing with this subject in the Bible, we will find wonderful direction and encouragement needed to make godly judgments in the normal conduct of our lives. Often, it’s the example we set even more than the words we say which help us in our interactions with others to sway them to the Lord’s point of view. I know there are people in my own life who have given me constructive criticism, which has been at times difficult to take [as are many changes] but has added peace and a closer relationship with God when I took it. Even the most righteous of us are still sinners, sinners with subtle pockets of sin which must be uncovered and expunged from our lives. I’m no exception to that rule. If we will take this divine encouragement with us, found in 2 THESS 2: 16-17, we will eventually find contentment in our adversity. “May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and in His grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good.” Our God is here for us any time of day or night. Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn