ENCOURAGEMENT-09 (John 4:25-30)

REPLACING CRITICISM AND CONDEMNATION
WITH LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT

BIBLE PASSAGE:
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:
As Christians, if we aren’t careful, we can fall into a bad habit of
criticizing others. We can become especially nit-picky about things
that we don’t struggle with ourselves. Too often, this criticism in one
area (or more) spills over and we will start finding fault with many
other areas of another person.

If the failure of someone else has an impact on us, we might take it
personally, and it can magnify our contempt for the person who has
stumbled. Worse than criticism, sometimes we might become guilty
of condemning others for their failures.

When others fail, they don’t need to be reminded of their failures by
others, they just need to know that they are still loved. Since the goal
of every believer is to become more like Jesus, then we need to study
His habits and how He responds 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; and 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 out to her, but He also
reached out to a city through her.

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

We should recall how others had a positive impact on our lives.
It wasn’t through criticism or condemnation was it? Neither of
those can contribute to encouraging others and expressing our
love and concern for them (and their relationship with the Lord).
In fact, constant criticism chips away at our relationships with
others, and possibly their relationship with the Lord.

When we spend time reading God’s word, we see Jesus in many
situations. He dealt with a woman caught in adultery, He healed
people who were blind and/or deaf, and He raised some 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 we do that, we are usurping
God’s position? He is the One, and only One, capable of fairly judging us.

We can allow our personal feelings and pride to control our emotions
and actions, and as a result, we are not encouraging a “fallen one”,
but instead, we are causing them to feel even worse about their failures.
This attitude and action is not mimicking the love Jesus showed to others,
and to us, is it?

Our goal is to build others up, and not to tear them down even more,
regardless of how they may have hurt, or offended us. It is not our
responsibility to see that they receive punishment for their actions,
that’s God’s job, right? Why? Because He can read our hearts and
He knows the appropriate action that will be helpful in restoring us.

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

When we are Christians, each of us have become one of God’s servants.
We are His eyes, voice, feet, and hands. We might be the only gospel and
glimpse of Jesus that others may see, so our interactions with others is,
and will always be, very important.

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. Thank You for 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, but You have always shown me Your grace.”

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