Critical Spirit- Spiritual Rehab- THURSDAY
Critical Spirit
by
Rocky Fleming
Thursday - Spiritual Rehab
"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." (2 Cor. 10:3-6 ESV)
I have several friends who describe themselves as addicts. From alcohol to drugs to pornography, they are addicted. Many of them have been sober or free of this bondage for years. But they never lose sight that they are addicted, and there are certain things that will set them off, and their participation in their addiction will resurface. They have to keep a tight rein on those things. Their battle always begins at the same place. It is the same for all addicts. In fact their battleground is the same for all of us, whether we are addicted to the things I mentioned, or to sin. Let me be truthful with you. I am addicted to sin.
Before you spread the news of this on me like some juicy inside information, I want to remind you that you too are addicted to sin. It is in our DNA to sin. It is a constant desire that we have. We live in a world that our addiction is tempted everyday, and I might add ... legally. You can say it might not be so for you. But ask yourself when was the last time you sinned? How long was it before your sin that you sinned? How long do you think you will go before slipping again? You might say that it is not an addiction. Then you describe it. Tell me how anything so uncontrollable cannot be an addiction? You will conclude, as I have, that sin is an addiction in the human race passed down through every generation since Adam and Eve, and there is only one way to battle this addiction. As an alcoholic would do, we have to battle it one day at a time, and the battle begins in our thoughts. Before a drink hits a mouth or a syringe sticks in a vein there is a temptation and a choice to yield to it. An addict battles a choice. If you are like me, our addition to sin begins with a choice. Since we are talking about a critical spirit I want to clear any misunderstanding up. A critical spirit is a choice, and it is a sin of disobedience. It is not a sport for a group of women or guys to play around with, for it has consequences. It is not cute and funny and innocent. It is as ugly as all those other sins you condemn in others, and since it is rooted in spiritual pride, it might be one of the worse.
Every Christian is warned. Every Christian is taught early to "Just Say No!" to an evil use of our tongues. A pastor cannot preach through the Bible and not teach on the problems and issues of the tongue. But we can hear his message and not apply it to our gossip and slander and the critical spirit that we bring into our church. It is always someone else, not our self. I have looked at every kind of church, and there are some of them that greatly disturb me with their liberal, social agendas. Even so, I believe that most churches are in agreement that the evil use of our tongue and a critical spirit is condemned across the board. We are all in agreement that this issue is evil, if we teach scripture and lead with the values that God loves. How do you think hate and prejudice and misunderstandings in the Body of Christ originate? It begins with a critical spirit against someone or people groups that are left over by hurt, unforgiveness and a spiritual pride that makes Satan laugh with pleasure. As I indicated yesterday, Jesus leads us to understand that we condemn ourself when we condemn those people that we criticize. Do we connect that this is what Jesus was teaching?
The battle to control the tongue begins with some questions that we need ask our self before we engage it. Such as: "If I say what I am thinking what will it produce? Do I need to stop and pray this thing through before I judge this person? Are there some needed facts that I am missing? I see their actions, but do I know their intentions? Would I want someone to say these things about me? What would Jesus think and tell me to do?" Can you just imagine how many careless and ruthless words would be avoided by simply taking Paul's instructions above to "take every thought captive to obey Christ?" Following his wisdom can help us avoid a large amount of pain for other people and our self.
Because I am addicted to sin I share my hope with you. I try hard to fight a fight of faith and stand strong against my addiction. But I still fail. I still keep on sinning. When I do slip, I get back up and keep trying to beat it. Eventually I slip up again. But I am comforted that I am not alone in my struggle. Like the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:18-19 NIV:
"For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing."
Like me, Paul was addicted to sin. But like me, he found comfort in the solution given to him. He said:
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1-2 NIV
It is essential that we connect these passages with our struggle with a critical spirit. Although Jesus literally hates what we are doing, He does not hate us. He does not condemn us when we sin. Because of this it would be good to remember this as a thought that we need to embrace when we are tempted to condemn another person with our words.
Will you treat another person as Jesus has treated you? If you stop and ask this question of yourself before you stumble in this sin, maybe it will help you avoid a critical word that you are guaranteed will return to hurt you.