REPLACING CRITICISM AND CONDEMNATION WITH LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT

SCRIPTURE:
The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called 
Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, 
"I who speak to you am He." And at this point His disciples came, and they 
marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" 
or, "Why are You talking with her?" The woman then left her water pot, 
went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, and see a Man who 
told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they 
went out of the city and came to Him" 
(John 4: 25-30)

MEDITATION:
If Christians aren’t careful, they can fall into a bad habit of criticizing others.
They can become especially nit-picky about things they don't struggle with themselves.
Too often, this criticism in one area (or more) spills over
and they start finding fault with many other areas of another person.

If the failure of another person has an impact on a specific believer, 
he or she may take it personally which magnifies 
their contempt for the person who has stumbled.
Worse than criticism, 
some Christians start to condemn others for their failures.
Since the goal of every believer is to become more like Jesus, then we need 
to study His habits and responses when He sees failures in others.

In the scriptures, we see Jesus 
ministering to a woman who was living with someone who was not her husband.
She also had five previous marriages.
So how did Jesus react to her failures?
He never condemned her, and through His love, He not only
reached her, but He also reached a city through her.

Jesus had the wisdom to know that He could not reach anyone 
if He offended them (and neither can we).
We should never compromise the gospel or our walk with Christ, 
but at the same time, we should reach out in love 
if we expect to see the hearts and lives of others changed.
When we offend others, 
we should realize that we are hindering the work of the Spirit of God.

We should remember how others had an impact on our lives.
It wasn’t through criticism or condemnation was it?
Neither one of these contributes to encouraging others and expressing 
our love and concern for them and their relationship with the Lord.
In fact, constant criticism chips away at the relationships with others.

When we observe Jesus in God’s Word, we see Him in many situations.
He dealt with a woman caught in adultery, people who were blind and/or deaf, 
and raising people from the dead.
When we look closer, 
we discover that He always reached them from a position of love.

ACTION:
Are you guilty of criticizing or condemning others for their failures?
If someone’s failure affected you personally, 
did you have contempt for them and allow your disappointment 
to cause you to start criticizing them frequently about other things?
Do you realize that you are being judgmental 
and the scriptures say that when you do that, you are usurping God’s 
position as the One, and only One capable of fairly judging anyone?

You are allowing your personal feelings and pride 
to control your emotions and actions.
As a result, you are not encouraging a “fallen one” 
but instead, you are making them feel even worse about their failures.
This type of attitude 
will never mimic the love Jesus showed to others, and to you.

Your goal is to build others up and not to tear them down even more, 
regardless of how they may have hurt or offended you.
You do not have the responsibility 
of punishing them for their actions, that’s God’s duty.

As you go through life, it is probably inevitable 
that someone will offend you or hurt your feelings.
Don’t wait until it happens to react, 
but plan now for those times before they happen.
Will you allow love, or anger and pride, 
to control your response to their offenses?
How did Jesus respond? He is the example you are to follow.

If you are a Christian, you are one of God’s servants. 
You are His eyes, lips, feet, and hands. 
You might be the only gospel, and glimpse of Jesus, that others may see.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for the love You and Your Son, Jesus, have 
shown to me. Help me to develop that kind of love for others. Forgive me 
for lashing out to hurt those who have hurt or offended me. Teach me to 
replace my hurt feelings and anger with a love that encourages rather than 
tears down others. Give me a sensitivity to use bad circumstances as 
opportunities to show love, to encourage others, to avoid criticism and 
condemnation, and to point others to Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for not 
condemning me, but offering me the opportunity to have my failures forgiven, 
and giving me a new and exciting purpose for living. I give You all the 
praise for how You have blessed me. Help me to look for opportunities to 
bless others and to remember that I have failures in my own life too.”