Creative or Critic?

Criticizing the efforts of another does not require a lot of intelligence. "Look at that mess...." "How dumb is that...." Skill and creativity bring solutions to problems and beauty to chaos. I wonder why criticism comes so easily to us? Everyone I know does it, some more than others, to be sure. At a picnic yesterday, I found myself engaged in an animated discussion about politics. Each of us has an opinion about taxes, the war, the candidates - don't we? Before long I realized that not many creative solutions were being offered up! Mostly we were just criticizing those who are charged with making decisions, but we were not offering solutions that even started to address all of the concerns involved.

Let's bring this discussion to where we live - our homes, our jobs, and our local church. Are you a creative participant or a critic on the sidelines?

You can criticize the way that your wife cares for your kids or you can join her in being an active parent.
You can join the gossip about your project manager, or you can build a team that gets the job done.
You can take on a ministry assignment at your church or you can just lament the failures of the pastor to adequately meet your needs.


In Exodus there a great lesson about this tucked into a story about Moses and his father-in-law. Fathers-in-law are notorious critics - except for my father-in-law - who always encourages me, really! Jethro (yes, that really is his name) went to see Moses and Zipporah, (yes, that is really her name!) his daughter, after the Israelite people had been delivered from Egyptian slavery. The emerging nation was still somewhat chaotic and Jethro noted the inefficient way in which Moses provided leadership for the people. Moses went out and sat to settle disputes. The lines of people who needed his decision stretched to the horizons! Jethro then made this observation. "What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?" ... This is not good!" (Exodus 18:13-17, NLT)

It did not require brilliance to see the problem and to realize that if this continued, there would be no nation in a very short time. But Jethro went beyond just criticizing. Next he said, "Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten." (Exodus 18:19-21, The Message)

Jethro's sage advice was provided at just the right moment. He took a risk in offering the advice because it could have provoked Moses, who might have said, "And who, old man, do you think you are? Did God call you to lead Israel?" However, Moses was a man of humility who listened and learned!

Often our criticism is unwarranted, based in something less than full knowledge. Even the godly and mature fall prey to making superficial judgments! Remember Samuel's search for a king for Israel? When he went to Jesse's house in Bethlehem at God's direction, he immediately judged the oldest, tallest son- the one who projected leadership and self-confidence- as the man for the job. But the Lord said, "Samuel, don’t think Eliab is the one just because he’s tall and handsome. He isn’t the one I’ve chosen. People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts." (1 Samuel 16:7, CEV) When you're ready to take aim and fire off critical words, may the Lord speak to you, too. Hold those words until you have thought it through, prayed over it, and gained insight. Then, you can become part of the solution rather than just adding to the problem.

"The wise are known for their understanding,
and pleasant words are persuasive.
Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it,
but discipline is wasted on fools.
From a wise mind comes wise speech;
the words of the wise are persuasive.
Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." (Proverbs 16:21-24, NLT)

Imperfectly living, perfectly loved

The toughest part of the life-work to which God called me is knowing when to challenge, when to comfort; when to say "I understand," and when to say, "Do better for God's sake!" I am a coach of sorts; but, I am also a healer, a counselor, too. I need 20/20 vision of what God can make of people's lives, no matter how broken they may be at the moment. If I lose that vision, I will lose the ability to challenge others to let the Spirit of God change them into the likeness of the Lord Jesus, and I will lose the greatest hope that we have - the hope of salvation by the grace of God. But, I cannot be so enthralled with the possibility of making all things perfect that I lose the ability to empathize and love people who are making a mess of life through poor and/or sinful choices; or to give comfort to those whose lives are smashed by people or problems beyond their control.

Almost everyday I deal first with the gap that exists (yes, it exists, believe me!) between who I know God calls me to be, and who I am at this moment. Though I am still an imperfect man, I am thankful that I am loved perfectly by God. This allows me to be hopeful for those who come my way who are living foolishly or hopelessly, or in great pain. I serve people who are dealing with wounds that range from having selfish and/or abusive parents, to the pain of being rejected by a spouse, to being a slave to a boss who cares only for himself, to self-hatred because they have judged themselves too something (fat, skinny, tall, short, dumb, poor - the list is a long one). Many have come to the conclusion, "I am unlovely," and are full of self-loathing. I want them all to be healed and made perfect so badly that there is always an ache just below the surface, a kind of unending prayer that today God will use me to give somebody a reason to look up and ask for His help.

Empathy alone will not bring the life of Christ to those who need Him, however. As important as love is, there is a time for truth, too. We must face ourselves in the mirror and say, "With God's help, this is going to change!" And then to the hard work of making it happen. I am not in charge of opportunities and cannot explain why some people are handed so many gifts and others seem to draw the short straw, again and again. But, I do know that each and everyone of us has choices to make every day that have rippling effects down through the rest of our lives.

-A life-destroying affair starts with a choice to stare a little too long into the eyes of another.
-Losing 50 lbs. to stave off disease starts with what chose to eat for breakfast today!
-Becoming the person God wants us to be starts with a prayer for grace to say 'yes' to Him, just for today.

None of us will get it perfectly right - not the first time, not after 50 years! Perfection waits for that moment when God welcomes us into His glorious Presence. However, if we only see our imperfections, we will give up. But God asks only that today we give ourselves to the task of building His kingdom. Tomorrow will bring us its own set of challenges and its own supply of grace. So, let's grow up in Christ! As we seek His healing, and work to defeat Evil, aiming to make this world a beautiful place, we must hold onto faith, hope, and love. Faith that connects us to the unseen, hope that allows us to possess the promises of God now, and love that makes us like Him.

Here's a word from the Word. Take it with you today. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV)

"We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love." (1 Corinthians 13:9-13, The Message)