There are lots of people who are criticized by others. In politics, one party condemns the other. We are used to it. However, it should not happen in the church. And yet there are critical spirits moving through the church. It seems anytime someone moves into any public role, there will always be someone who wants to criticize.
The nature of the critical spirit seems to driven by the lack of the one who is criticizing. If a Pastor gets blessed financially and finds that he is in a season of prosperity, there will be those who rise up and condemn the wealth as ungodly. Many times those who speak against, are those who are in financial lack.
Let me share some examples from my own experience. I was dramatically and instantly healed of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Although there were some who rejoiced with me, others rose up to question the healing. They questioned because they themselves had not experienced such a dramatic healing. I received the fullness of God and began to speak in tongues from overwhelming joy. Those who did not have the experience of speaking in tongues began to question and be critical that I was speaking without understanding. As I grew in love for Jesus, I wanted to express that love in worship by raising my hands. Some encouraged me, but others criticized saying that I was not showing reverence to God. They were critical because they themselves did not raise hands in worship. I have been so full of God sometimes that I could not talk. There were those who criticized that as being demonic because God would not offend us by taking away our ability to speak.
Having learned through a process of growth, I will never criticize those whose journey with God has not taken them where I have gone. I will try to encourage them to follow my path. Yet I find that there are many who feel they must criticize what they have not experienced. I sometimes wonder if they are critical of other Christians in order to justify the lack of hunger and growth in their own personal walk.
Jesus was accused and criticized by the Pharisees. They accused him of blasphemy. They spent time trying to trap Him. Instead of spending time looking for understanding, they spend time justifying themselves. They then spent time telling others why they thought Jesus was bad news. They decided to tell Pilate how bad Jesus was. (John 18).
“So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” ” (John 18:29–30, NIV84) Those who criticize base the validity of their judgment upon their accusation. Pilate wanted nothing to do with the critical spirit. But the critical spirit persisted because the motivation of the critical spirit is to destroy what it does not understand and what makes it insecure. “Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. ” (John 18:31, NIV84)
Now Pilate had to decide what to do. He decided to find for himself who Jesus was and what Jesus was saying. Pilate decided that he was not making any judgments based upon the criticism of others. “Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” ” (John 18:33, NIV84)
In today’s society, we make judgments based on the opinions of others. Critical spirits create sound bites that say what they want to say and then share them over the internet. To stop the critical spirit we must take the time to listen fully for ourselves and make a judgment based on our own experience with Jesus.
Jesus’ response to Pilate was to challenge the source of his information. Was Pilate asking because he had already condemned Jesus because of a critical spirit or was Pilate asking because he wanted to know the truth. “”Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” ” (John 18:34, NIV84) Pilate responded as a truth seeker. He acknowledged the controversy surrounding Jesus and also acknowledged that he did not understand. He then asked and listened to Jesus for himself. “”Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” ” (John 18:35, NIV84)
Jesus taught Pilate about truth. Pilate listened. Pilate realized that Jesus was condemned because of a critical spirit. “”What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ” (John 18:38, NIV84)
There are many good Christians today who are hungry for God. They are seeking God. They are finding powerful encounters with God. They are being criticized by those who lack understanding and are complacent. They are labeled as heretics by those who are seeking to justify themselves.
I choose to take the time to listen for myself to each one who speaks. I will not form an opinion based on someone else’s opinion. I will look for myself at what these people, speakers, and leaders are saying and then examine it for myself against the Word of God. I will be a Berean and after examining by the Word of God, I will pursue every experience that God wants me to have and enjoy. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. ” (Acts 17:11–12, NIV84)
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