Sunday, August 23, 2009

Critical Spirit



It is bittersweet to end my Bible study, Draw Me Near by Nancy Douglas. God has taught me more than I could have dreamed was possible from one 10-week study. He really means it when He promises to give us good things when we ask. (Luke 11:9-10)

Now the Lord is moving on to His next great work in me. I am beginning to study about having a critical spirit. I am interested in God's view of our critical spirit, the lies that cultivate a critical spirit, healing a critical spirit and operating in wholeness after a critical spirit. God has opened my eyes to many biblical examples and several ministries' views about the subject.

Do you know someone that operates in a critical spirit? In what circumstances have you found that you are unlovingly critical of others? What Bible passages have helped you heal this attitude? Have you been hurt by a critical spirit? How did you approach the offender in love? Is there a published Bible study that has helped you understand critical attitudes in God's people? Please post a comment below or e-mail me at heartstirredwithwisdom@gmail.com. I hope that God's wisdom in you can help me further my study in this area.

5 comments:

  1. Hi! I love your blog and this beautiful post. I recently have struggled with a critical spirit toward my best friend who is a Christian but is acting in a very unchristian like way with her boyfriend. How to judge the sin without being judgmental of the person? How to be friends when you aren't looking at Him the same way or His Word? But, I know that "a friend loves at all times". And that helped me to love her and pray faithfully for her in the midst of such wrong behavior. Thanks for sharing your post.

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  2. Jennifer, I am so thankful for your comment. I think I understand your conflict. We are called to rebuke our friends in love and restore them to a right standing with God. But why do we feel so judgmental and self-righteous? You are wise to pray for her at all times. She is blessed to have a friend like you.

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  3. I don't want to elaborate, but I definitely deal with this on a moment by moment basis. I needed and enjoyed reading this, thank you for putting your time and effort into sharing....

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  4. I myself have dealt with having a critical spirit. My husband pointed this out to me after we had been married for about a year. I dealt with it by refocusing my thoughts as soon as a critical thought came into my head. I try to think compassionately instead.
    Some of it is the way we are as human beings, but we can overcome it through prayer and the re-training of how our brains work.
    Great post! :) I'm interested in how we can help others to stop being so critical. I know someone that has been critical their entire life, and I would love for God to work in their life and make a change for the better. Please be in prayer for this person, and of course for myself to be better.

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  5. Crystal, thank you for being transparent about your own healing from a critical spirit. It is the word of our testimony that combined with the blood of the Lamb to overcome the enemy of our Lord. Praise God!

    I agree that compassion is a key weapon against being critical. When we care about others and their condition it is not as easy to condemn them in our hearts.

    I will be in prayer for you and your friend in agreement with Philippians 4:8 (The Message)"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse."

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