by Woodrow Kroll A study from the series What ... - Back to the Bible

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comes out smelling like a rose when it is submitted to textual criticism; other religion's holy books ... over and could
CRITICAL ATTITUDE

A study from the series

What Keeps Me from Growing.

by Woodrow Kroll

There’s an old fable about an elderly man who was traveling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding, so to please them he climbed up on the animal’s back. When they came to the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please them, he got off and set the boy on the animal’s back and continued on his way. In the third village, people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk, and the suggestion was made that they both ride. So the man climbed on and they set off again. In the fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen carrying the donkey down the road. Some people seem to be born with a critical attitude, and in most of these people it only grows with age. Critical people are everywhere. They’re the ones you hear saying: “Fault in others I can see; but praise the Lord, there’s none in me.”

Definition: a person who is critical is inclined to find fault or to judge others severely. Webster’s definition is a person who is given to severe and unfavorable criticism. We all know people like that, and according to the research team at the Center for Bible Engagement, a lot of us are those people. Men listed being critical at number six of those temptations that trouble them. It was number five for women. So, in that moment of private honesty, a lot of people admitted they have a problem with a critical attitude. But we have to be careful here. The word “criticism” has multiple meanings in the English language, and we must be certain we are using the word in the correct manner. For example, you may have heard the term “textual criticism.” The Bible comes out smelling like a rose when it is submitted to textual criticism; other religion’s holy books, not so much. A literary critic is not one who is against the Bible but rather a scholar who has been trained in the art of analyzing and evaluating the Bible as a work of literature. It doesn’t mean they are critical of the Bible; it means they have examined the textual and manuscript evidence that produced our copies of the Bible. That’s not the type of criticism we’re talking about today. We’re talking about people who nit-pick. People who find something wrong with almost everything. People who assume they know better or can do better so they criticize what you know or are doing. Here’s how you can identify such a person. 1 CRITICAL ATTITUDE

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1. They have an opinion about everything. 2. They have an inflated estimation of their own abilities or knowledge. 3. They have developed making people feel bad into an art form. 4. They often judge people’s motives, which is something none of us is ever in a position to do. 5. They tend to be critics, not doers. I had a classmate who after college became a critic of the ministries being conducted by his former classmates. Once he criticized me for the way I taught the Bible. The only thing was, he had dropped out of ministry and was in construction by that time. In hindsight I’m not real proud of my response to him. I could have been more spiritual, but I said, “Well, I like the way I teach the Bible better than the way you don’t.” Someone said, “You can always tell a failure by the way he criticizes success.” That’s a key indicator of a critical spirit. I believe a great deal of criticism is heavily laden with envy. Really, the only way to avoid some people’s criticism is by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing. But that’s not an option for the mature Christian.

What Does the Bible Say about a Critical Spirit? Let’s go straight to the Bible to find out. Luke 13:10-17. “Now he [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, ‘Woman, you are freed from your disability.’ And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, ‘There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.’ Then the Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?’ As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.” Essentially there are three players in this drama. Jesus, who healed a poor woman of an 18-year infirmity. The woman who was healed and was glorifying God. And the ruler of the synagogue who was criticizing Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. One had a gracious spirit; one had a glorifying spirit; and one had a grudging spirit. I think you know which is which.

What Caused the Critical Spirit in this Synagogue Ruler? Many things could be said, but let me limit myself to two observations.

1. He had the typical big head of the rulers of the synagogue. These rulers were invested with significant power and the man had an unhealthy appreciation of who and what he was. Notice the disgust in his voice and actions in verse 14. “But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, ‘There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be 2

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healed, and not on the Sabbath day.’” Now, contrast his critical attitude with Paul’s humble attitude in Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” A person with a critical spirit lacks a humble spirit, which is a huge problem for the child of God. We who have nothing to offer to God and who are largely equal with our fellow Christians, sometimes consider ourselves as authorities on something and thus we feel qualified to point out the deficiencies in other people. What was Jesus’ question to people like this? Luke 6:41, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” So, an overly inflated opinion of ourselves often causes a critical spirit. What else causes a critical spirit?

2. A strict adherence to unbiblical rules that we have extrapolated from the Bible. Now to be fair, a lot of people who have a super strict life code are honest people. They see their rules coming from God’s Word, and they intend to enforce them on everybody. But they are blinded to the broader truths of God’s Word because of their often pharisaical attention to the minutia of legal details. We often refer to people like this as legalists. The synagogue ruler was like that. He quoted the rule that it was not lawful to heal on the Sabbath and then challenged the people with the other six days of the week: “Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day,” he said. But here’s the problem, well two problems actually. Second, he didn’t care about the woman being healed at all. “Come on those days and be healed”? I wonder how many people had been healed in his synagogue on one of the other days of the week? I’m pretty sure none. But first, his problem was that the rule about healing on the Sabbath is not found anywhere in God’s Word. That was an interpretation of the Sabbath restriction; it was not Scripture. The rabbis would interpret Scripture in a certain way, giving lifestyle examples to illustrate the meaning of the laws of God, but these examples were subjective. They were their own interpretation. Other rabbis would interpret them differently. This illustrates, however, that many who have a critical spirit judge others based not on the black and white Scriptures, but on their understanding of the black and white Scriptures. Their understanding may be entirely wrong, but they still criticize you if your actions fall outside the bounds of their limited understanding. Again, the apostle Paul said, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Well, finally, let’s turn to God’s plan to cure a critical spirit. If you know you are being critical, always convinced that people are abusing the laws of God or going about living the Christian life in the wrong way, if others have detected that you are critical, what can you do to change? Likely many of you find yourself in this situation and you seriously, genuinely, even desperately want to change that critical spirit. What do you do?

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The Cures for a Critical Spirit 1. Admit you have a problem. You know, no problem is ever cured if we can’t bring ourselves to acknowledge that it exists. Do you remember how Jesus responded to the ruler of the synagogue after he suggested that the people had six days to be healed and they should choose one of them? Verse 15 says, “Then the Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites!’” Jesus had no problem telling it like it is. He cut right to the heart of the matter. But until the ruler of the synagogue recognized that he was being hypocritical, there would be no change. Quite often the things people criticize in others are things they are guilty of themselves. That was the upshot of Jesus’ comments in Luke 6:41, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” If you want to sweeten your spirit, first admit that it is not as sweet right now as it should be.

2. Confess your critical spirit to the Lord. Call it sin, for that’s what it is. Don’t hold back. Get alone. Pour out your heart to God. If they come naturally, let the tears fall. Be honest. Tell God that you know you’ve been too critical of others and ask Him to forgive you of your sin. He will; He has promised He will. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That’s God’s promise. Claim it and cash in on it. Here’s a third step back.

3. Ask those you’ve hurt to forgive you. This won’t be easy, but I’m telling you, until you ask others to forgive you, you will be haunted by the ghost of your critical attitude. It’s good for you and it’s good for them to have you admit your criticism and ask for their forgiveness. Here are Jesus’ words in Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” There’s no feeling in the world like forgiveness, so don’t just admit you have been critical and ask the Lord to forgive you, ask those you’ve hurt to forgive you as well and live a life of freedom from guilt. There’s one final thing I want to mention. You’ve got to do something to get out of the cycle of being critical. You’ve got to change and only the Holy Spirit can do that. So here’s step 4.

4. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a new spirit, a constructive spirit, not a critical spirit. When you do that and you accept and put into practice what He wants to do in your life, you’ll find yourself gravitating less to the attitude of the synagogue rule and gravitating more to the attitude of Jesus Christ. Listen to the advice of these Scriptures. Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, 4

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believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Does this describe the way you interact with your fellow believers? People with a critical spirit are often envious, arrogant and even rude. If you’ve seen yourself drifting that way, ask the Holy Spirit to “put a little love in your heart.” One more. Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Criticism is one thing most of us think is more blessed to give than to receive. But a critical spirit sows the seeds of discord in the body of Christ and destroys your relationships with others. But God can take that spirit away. Do what we’ve said today and watch what God does for you.

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A BAKER’S DOZEN OF VERSES ABOUT A CRITICAL ATTITUDE Exodus 2:13-14 “When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, ‘Why do you strike your companion?’ He answered, ‘Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid, and thought, ‘Surely the thing is known.’” Matthew 7:1-2 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Mark 11:24-25 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Luke 6:41 “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” John 7:24 “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Romans 14:3-4 “Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” Romans 14:10 “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” James 4:11 “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” Colossians 2:16 “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” Romans 14:13 “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” Luke 12:13-14 “Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’” 6 CRITICAL ATTITUDE

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Copyright © 2012 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Back to the Bible P.O. Box 82808, Lincoln, NE 68501 1-800-759-2425 backtothebible.org “Baker’s Dozen” scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version®. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.