Having a Critical Spirit

     Lately, the Holy Spirit has been doing some housecleaning in my heart and the process has not been easy or comfortable.  Hiding the truth from ourselves seems to be less difficult than owning up to the fact that we need to repent.  In my case, I felt as though I was under a heavy spiritual attack from the enemy.  As I ran to the Lord for comfort, little by little, He began to point out areas I needed to confess.  With each time of prayer, I felt the burden lifting.  Amazing how God works in our lives!
     One of the areas I became aware of was that of having a critical spirit.  Oh how easy it is to fall into this trap, and many times, we do not even realize it.  It is easy to sit back and criticize others, but it hurts when we are on the receiving end.  I believe the Lord has discussed this well when He told His disciples "Judge not, lest you be judged..." (Matthew 7:1-5).
     Having a critical spirit means that we tend to view others and circumstances from a negative point of view.  We find fault, criticize, gossip, slander, judge and complain.  I hate writing these words because they are ugly, but all sin is ugly in the eyes of our holy God.  A person with a critical spirit may not demonstrate all of these things, but we can be certain that behind it is the enemy of our souls.  Satan loves to make us ineffective in our witness by turning our love for God and others into a "complaint session".  Before long, our world grows dark and everything in it seems imperfect.  So how does a person develop a critical spirit?
     One of the first ways which is easy to see is that all of us have a sin nature.  If we are a Christian, we still have the old flesh to deal with on a regular basis.  Essentially, we are selfish people and unless we crucify the flesh daily and walk by the Spirit, we can return to that self-centered nature.

A monument in Zurich, Switzerland to fallen soldiers

     Along with selfishness, we often do not see ourselves as a new creation in Christ.  Our value and significance are found in Him not in anything we can do for ourselves.  When we forget to whom we belong, we become afraid.  That fear causes us to go into protective mode and we begin to criticize others.  Somehow, we think this will make us feel better, but it never does.
     Another element that tends to lead to a critical spirit is wanting to control our circumstances and the people around us.  Where did this begin?  "It all started in the Garden of Eden" as my husband likes to say.  If we can control things around us, we will feel secure or so we tell ourselves.  However, change is inevitable, and when this occurs, the person with a critical spirit panics.  Instead of trusting God, they complain about people and situations who are disrupting their world.  Unfortunately, it is catching.
     When a friend, family member, or acquaintance begins to point out all that wrong with your job, your church or other people, it is easy to join the band wagon.  Before we know it, we are not only complicit in this sin, but we are also passing it on to others around us.  We have taken our eyes off the Lord and put them instead on imperfect people or the circumstances of our life.  The Lord clearly told us in John 15: 4-5 that we are to abide in Him so that we can bear much fruit.  Apart from Christ, we cannot do anything!  Buying in to negative thinking, actions, or words can only hurt us in the long run.  As the Apostle Paul so clearly instructed us:  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
     A critical spirit only brings separation from God.  It is a sin and needs to be repented of rather than enabled.  This applies to all areas of our life.  God did not make us our brother's judge and jury.  He designed us to love Him and then to love others as we love ourselves.  We are to be givers of His grace and not critics in residence.  May we all learn to offer praise rather than condemnation, encouragement rather than criticism and love rather than disdain.  God is glorified when our focus and lives are centered on Him.  He will take care of all else for He alone is sovereign.  Selah!