Chief Critic

 

A friend and I were talking this week about being critical. I’ll share the story with you that I shared with her.

While growing up, my crippled grandmother lived with us. She walked with a cane and one shoe was built up about four inches to accommodate several hip fractures. Her bones were brittle and her broken arms in younger years had not healed correctly.

She also had dementia. I remember being accused of things I didn’t do, but I also remember her high-pitched shaky voice breaking out in a hymn now and then.

I had to share a room with her till I was thirteen. That’s when mom finally told her sister out west it was her turn to take Grandma in.

When Grandma was gone, I didn’t miss her a bit. I was simply glad she was out of my life. Even when she died a few years later, I didn’t shed a tear; however, a few months ago a strange thing happened.

I was relaxing in my living room when I felt God say, “You misjudged your grandmother.” Along with this impression came tears. I could not believe that after decades had passed, God would even care about this!

I shared it with one of my brothers a few weeks ago and tears came again, so I knew I wasn’t making this up. I did take God’s warning to heart, however, and asked Him to forgive me and help me not to jump to conclusions about people.

It’s so easy to be a critic. I’m thinking of the old adage don’t judge a man till you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins. After expressing a critical opinion have you ever had someone remark with a sneer, “Who died and made YOU Chief?”

I think in today’s world of E-communication, there is an overabundance of self-appointed chiefs---critics who indulge in prickly fault-finding and censure according to their own set of values. It’s never a level playing field, and let’s remember self-indulgence indicates a lack of self-control.

Words matter, whether spoken or written. By indulging a whim for criticism, we are destroying happiness, our own and that of others. Proverbs 15:23 in The Message Bible says it this way:  Congenial conversation---what a pleasure! The right word at the right time---beautiful!  

The next time you appoint yourself Chief Critic, stop and ask yourself: WHY do I want to be so critical? Give yourself an honest answer. You CAN change, you know.