Lucas 6

Lucas 6

Hughes adds that believers "are to refrain from hypercritical, condemning judgment. There is a universe of difference between being discerningly critical and hypercritical. A discerning spirit is constructive. A hypercritical spirit is destructive. The person with a destructive, overcritical spirit revels in criticism for its own sake. He expects to find fault, like the man who sat watching his preacher neighbor nail up a trellis in his backyard. The preacher, seeing him watching intently from his yard, asked, "Trying to pick up some pointers on carpentry?" To which his neighbor replied, "Nope. Just waiting to see what a preacher says when he hits his thumb." When a critic discovers faults in another, he feels a malignant satisfaction and always sees the worst possible motives in the other's actions. The critical spirit is like the carrion fly that buzzes with a sickening hum of satisfaction over sores, preferring corruption to health. One of the most prominent characteristics of this critical, fault-finding person is that he predictably focuses on things that are of little importance (cf "speck") and treats them as matters of vital importance. Within the church this takes bizarre forms - judging the spirituality of a young couple by observing whether they spank their children with a bare hand or an implement, judging others by where they sit in church or the Bible version they carry or whether their theology agrees with the critic's point for point . . . and so it goes! (See The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom) Mattoon - Beloved, if I am walking on a frozen lake in the winter time and suddenly, I hear the ice starting to crack, I am not going to continue my same direction, I am going to turn around immediately and not go any further. The same principle holds true in your Christian life. If your path is about to destroy you, you should stop immediately what you are doing and turn around into the right direction. It will be difficult for you to have a ministry with others when your own life is not what it ought to be before God. You have to look at yourself in the mirror day after day. The person in the mirror knows you better than anyone else. Is he pointing the finger at you to get the garbage out of your life or do you have confidence because your life is right with the Lord? You have to live with yourself? The question is, "Can you live in peace or is your heart full of guilt and remorse?" (Treasures from the Scriptures) When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day, Just go to a mirror and look at yourself, And see what THAT man has to say. For it isn't your father or mother or wife Who judgment upon you must pass; The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass. Some people may think you a straight-shootin' chum And call you a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum If you can't look him straight in the eye. He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest For he's with you clear up to the end, And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend. You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you've cheated the man in the glass. Author Unknown J C