Critizing Others or Oneself?

Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters

James 4:11

A typical Christian family was driving home from church. Dad was fussing about the sermon being too long and sort of boring. Mom said that she thought the organist played a little too loud during the second hymn we sang. Sis, who was a music major in college, said that the soloist sang about a half note off key during most of the song. Grandma said she couldn’t hear very well; they were sitting in a bad place. Little Willie listened to all of this and started to fuss about the woman with the big hat who sat in front of him. He couldn’t see around her.

It is very easy to find fault with people or things and we are known for this trait. The words “criticism” or “critique” don’t show up much in our English Bibles, but the concept certainly does. What could this kind of destructive speech or criticism include? It could include complaining about someone. It certainly includes verbally attacking someone. It also involves gossip, slander, and lying. This is led by arrogance, selfishness, and an evil spirit and this is not from God.

Further, when we speak against another person in an evil way, we directly disobey the law of God, which in effect is speaking against the law of God. James says, The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. (James 4:11) When we do this we are opposed to the ways of God and opposed to God Himself.

Why are we so judgmental and critical?

1. It helps boost our own crumbling self-image. When we point out someone else’s faults, we seem to be a little better in our own eyes.

2. We enjoy criticism because of our own sinful nature that takes pleasure in hearing and sharing other people’s shortcomings, which is why gossip is so popular.

3. It helps us justify and rationalize our own sins, decision, and wrongful action, and gives us an outlet to express our hurt and need for revenge.

There are several reasons why we should re-evaluate before we start criticizing.

1. All the circumstances and facts are never truly known. There are always behind the scene facts, things that happen behind closed doors that contribute to other people’s actions.

This is why Jesus tells us to go to whoever we have an issue with and see if we have the story right so no vain imagination may exist.

2. We fall short and often fail. We are all sinners, and no one is exempt from sin. So when we judge someone else, we fail to recognize that we are just as guilty as the person we are judging.

3. When we judge others, we are actually usurping God’s authority. Whenever we pass judgment over another person’s life, we are saying we are worthy to judge.

God is the only One who has the authority to criticize and to condemn. One of the hardest things to take is one of the easiest things to give—criticism. “It takes a good man to build a barn, but any fool can kick or burn it down.”

E.Stanley Jones in his book Mastery The Art of Mastering Life shares the following story. 

The devil asked a saint one day, “Who are the goats and who are the sheep?” The saint replied, “I am one of the goats but as for the sheep, God alone knows who they are.” The saint judged the person he was supposed to judge—himself. The others he left to God’s judgment.

E.Stanley Jones further states in his book, “Inoculate yourself with a mild dose of self-criticism so that you’ll be immune against the criticism of others. When criticism comes, you can say, ‘That isn’t anything. I’ve said far worse things that than about myself.’” The most effective criticism is to judge oneself daily in the presence of God.

“If anyone could see his own vices accurately without the veil of self-love, he would worry about nothing else in his life” (St. John Climacus, Saint John Climacus, a 6th-7th-century Christian monk at the monastery on Mount Sinai).

In judging others we are really judging ourselves. Judging is self-revealing. We tend to criticize in others the faults we most hate in ourselves but do not have the courage to face. Our faults irritate us most when we see them in others. People who have the greatest faults or the greatest number of faults are themselves often the most merciless in their criticism of others. St. Paul said, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” (Romans 2:1)

Dear friends this Lenten Season let us Polish our own windows. Remove the dirt of sin through daily self-examination, self-criticism and repentance; and we will be surprised how much saintlier our neighbour will appear to us.

God Bless You.