Reason #620
You know I always have to reference the start off every new month and talk about how fast it arrived. That's the case, once again, for October. Seriously, where did you come from, October? The month I used to despise has become one of my favorites.
So the Lord is definitely teaching me so many things about myself, and sometimes I feel like I'm never going to stop learning. It really is going to take me a lifetime to figure it out and get it right. And so for the past few days, the Lord has been working on my critical spirit.
Why is it so easy to be so bad? Why is it so easy to be negative and pessimistic? I mean really, it is. You know this. It's easy to see the flaws in life. To notice the mistakes, and to remember them the most. In fact, there are people who get paid to do this. People call critics who are critical for a living. They have made their livelihood out of pointing out the bad, negative, or flawed areas in restaurants, food, movies, literature, clothes, hotels, and so forth. Yet I do believe that the amount of "unprofessional critics" far exceeds the amount of "professional critics." And so often I find myself obviously missing my second calling, as critiquing comes naturally to me.
We try to make it look nice and pretty by saying things like, "I am really detail oriented and analytical, so I just notice the small things that others typically don't." Truth is, most of our attention to detail comes from a critical spirit doesn't it? Now, no one likes to admit this about themselves. I sure don't, but I see it my life so often. Because have you ever been to a long play that was absolutely fabulous yet the one thing you remember the most about it was how the actor slightly tripped as he walked across stage? Or maybe you went to an amazing concert but spent the evening counting the number of times the singer's voice cracked or hit a wrong note. Maybe you heard a really inspirational speech but the line you remember was the one in which the speaker stumbled over his words.
But what's wrong with taking note of those little things? What's wrong with being detail oriented, you ask? Good question. I don't think there is anything wrong with having great attention to detail, but I think our response and our thoughts are where we are falling short. Because, although we may not point out that one thing to the one we're being critical of, we usually tell someone else. "Oh dinner at Queenie's house was so much fun. The dessert was really delicious even though I did find a microscopic piece of a pecan shell in my dessert." Now why do we need to add that last part? Why do we need to build up the pie only to tear it down with our critical words? Would that make Queenie feel better? How does that make others view her? Wouldn't it be better to just stop after the word delicious? See what I mean? It sneaks up on us and we don't even realize it.
Well, for a girl who notices the small, and I mean small things. One who has the memory of an elephant and can easily obsess over the details, the Lord is helping me see that I'm often times being far too critical and not encouraging. I spend time back-handedly tearing down the body rather than obviously edifying it. "But Lord, if I just tell them, I can help them." Truth be told, our help is rarely seen as that. And if it's something major that really needs to be fixed, it's best to let Him be the one to do that. Rather, we need to spend our time focusing on what's good. Focusing on what is rather than what isn't. Building others up rather than giving them more to be insecure about. Cheering on their successes rather than critiquing their every move. Looking at the masterpiece as a whole rather than just seeing one piece.
In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that with the same measure we use to judge, we will be judged. That's not fun to hear but it's the truth. And I think if we kept that mindset, and got the log out of our own eye, we'd definitely be able to view things a lot differently than ever before. Probably a lot more like Jesus does.
#620 - Because He sees our life for what it is, rather than what it is not.
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another." - Zechariah 7:9
So the Lord is definitely teaching me so many things about myself, and sometimes I feel like I'm never going to stop learning. It really is going to take me a lifetime to figure it out and get it right. And so for the past few days, the Lord has been working on my critical spirit.
Why is it so easy to be so bad? Why is it so easy to be negative and pessimistic? I mean really, it is. You know this. It's easy to see the flaws in life. To notice the mistakes, and to remember them the most. In fact, there are people who get paid to do this. People call critics who are critical for a living. They have made their livelihood out of pointing out the bad, negative, or flawed areas in restaurants, food, movies, literature, clothes, hotels, and so forth. Yet I do believe that the amount of "unprofessional critics" far exceeds the amount of "professional critics." And so often I find myself obviously missing my second calling, as critiquing comes naturally to me.
We try to make it look nice and pretty by saying things like, "I am really detail oriented and analytical, so I just notice the small things that others typically don't." Truth is, most of our attention to detail comes from a critical spirit doesn't it? Now, no one likes to admit this about themselves. I sure don't, but I see it my life so often. Because have you ever been to a long play that was absolutely fabulous yet the one thing you remember the most about it was how the actor slightly tripped as he walked across stage? Or maybe you went to an amazing concert but spent the evening counting the number of times the singer's voice cracked or hit a wrong note. Maybe you heard a really inspirational speech but the line you remember was the one in which the speaker stumbled over his words.
But what's wrong with taking note of those little things? What's wrong with being detail oriented, you ask? Good question. I don't think there is anything wrong with having great attention to detail, but I think our response and our thoughts are where we are falling short. Because, although we may not point out that one thing to the one we're being critical of, we usually tell someone else. "Oh dinner at Queenie's house was so much fun. The dessert was really delicious even though I did find a microscopic piece of a pecan shell in my dessert." Now why do we need to add that last part? Why do we need to build up the pie only to tear it down with our critical words? Would that make Queenie feel better? How does that make others view her? Wouldn't it be better to just stop after the word delicious? See what I mean? It sneaks up on us and we don't even realize it.
Well, for a girl who notices the small, and I mean small things. One who has the memory of an elephant and can easily obsess over the details, the Lord is helping me see that I'm often times being far too critical and not encouraging. I spend time back-handedly tearing down the body rather than obviously edifying it. "But Lord, if I just tell them, I can help them." Truth be told, our help is rarely seen as that. And if it's something major that really needs to be fixed, it's best to let Him be the one to do that. Rather, we need to spend our time focusing on what's good. Focusing on what is rather than what isn't. Building others up rather than giving them more to be insecure about. Cheering on their successes rather than critiquing their every move. Looking at the masterpiece as a whole rather than just seeing one piece.
In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that with the same measure we use to judge, we will be judged. That's not fun to hear but it's the truth. And I think if we kept that mindset, and got the log out of our own eye, we'd definitely be able to view things a lot differently than ever before. Probably a lot more like Jesus does.
#620 - Because He sees our life for what it is, rather than what it is not.
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another." - Zechariah 7:9