When I was a child, much of life’s wisdom was wrapped up in wise, and not so wise, sayings: “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched,” or “Look before you leap.” One that stuck with me, even if I didn’t always follow it, was “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.” Carried to its extreme, this could give the appearance of condoning evil by not speaking out. Within reasonable limits, though, it’s sound advice.

Most of us, whether Christian or not, can’t resist getting in a dig at someone who is particularly obnoxious or immoral, especially if he or she is famous or powerful. One of the joys of my Christian life is sharing Saturday morning prayer breakfast with several of my Gideon brothers. I’ll have to say, though, that we sometimes take a little too much pleasure in criticizing our least favorite political and business figures. I hesitate to use the word “gossip,” though it does sometimes come to mind.

A more serious problem comes from Christians who make a practice of criticizing other Christians, especially a pastor. My church, Pikeville First Baptist, has all but split on more than one occasion because some members openly criticized the pastor, while others condemned the ones who were criticizing. Even now, with a pastor who seems to have all but universal support in the congregation, a lot of little things that shouldn’t matter at all prompt the shaking of heads and wagging of tongues. From the order of worship, to the kind of music the choir does, to the color of the seats in the choir loft, people always find some reason t complain.

A carnal Christian is one who professes the way of Christ but lives the way of the world. Paul tells us in Romans 7 and 8 that the flesh and the spirit war against each other, and without Christ, the flesh wins every time. In cases of Christians who have turned away from their faith completely, only God can judge if they were ever really saved at all. For those who remain in the fellowship of believers, the signs of carnality are less obvious, but still obvious. Having been counted far too often among the crowd of critics myself, I recognize that a critical spirit is a sure sign of spiritual problems.

James warns against the power of the tongue to destroy lives. I have attended churches most of my life, and some of the most vicious word assassinations I’ve known came from within the body. Words can hurt far more than sticks and stones sometimes; that particular folk saying is utterly false. We can’t control our tongues, not completely anyway; only the Holy Spirit gives that kind of self control. When we offer our hands and feet for the Lord’s service, we shouldn’t forget the tongue as well.

A critical spirit comes from cynicism, the notion that there is nothing good in the world, and that all motives at their heart are selfish. That kind of attitude simply reflects the reality of someone’s own spiritual life. If we do not allow God to work in us, we won’t see him at work in the world around us. If we don’t recognize any pure thoughts or motives in our own lives, we won’t be able to see them in others either. Jesus said we should remove the log in our own eye before attempting to remove a mote, or a speck, in someone else’s. In other words, we can’t judge someone else’s faults without first examining, and dealing with, our own.

Here’s a little spiritual checklist you can use to see if you may have too much of the carnal and not enough of the spiritual:

You read the Bible infrequently, meaning not on a regular schedule, and then only because you feel you should.
You pray less than once a day, or use the same basic prayer over and over.
When a school activity or sports activity conflicts with church services, church loses.
Instead of talking about how many things are right with the church and its leaders, your conversation more often focuses on those things that are wrong.
You keep comparing things to the way they were, unfavorably, instead of discussing how to improve things now.

If any one of these applies to you, be concerned. If three or more apply, you need to seek the Lord’s face and beg his forgiveness.

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JESUS IS the Bridge Ministries

Beneath His Wings Devotionals - Vol. 1