spirit of criticism

when i first came to the house of prayer, God sternly convicted me about the spirit of criticism. i realized how judgmental i am, critical, easily perceiving fault in others and viewing them through the lens of their weaknesses and issues versus through the eyes of Jesus. i realized how i do not bridle my tongue, and the tongue is a small member but steers the whole body, and is set on fire by hell (James 3), so it is so important to learn to restrain yourself, to not speak evil, complain, speak negatively. this pollutes your heart and clouds your discernment. since this initial realization, i've been fighting against this spirit and wrestling to get this criticism out of me. i've asked God to purify my heart, to convict me the moment i think/say a critical thought/word, to give me His heart and help me see through His eyes. God truly is able to change our hearts, because i have noticed my heart slowly transforming, where i am truly beginning to see people as Jesus sees them - with all their issues, He says they're lovely. as i've been awakened to my own critical spirit, i've become sensitive to it and aware of it around me. i've realized how much of our conversation (i'm talking about Christians talking to Christians) is completely unedifying to the Body and saturated with criticism and disdain. how we criticize this church or that church, point out the flaws in this person, pick that person apart. this is what the Bible calls "evil speaking". if we are the Body of Christ, and each person a different member, then doing this is liken to me taking a knife and just slashing my leg or my arm constantly, or gouging my eye out. graphic, i know, but that's the truth. i would never do that to my body. so why do we as His Body do that to ourselves? anything you say that does not build the Body does not contribute to the increase of His Kingdom. it hinders it, slows it down, even tears it down and destroys the work of God among us.

someone at IHOP (i forget who now) had an encounter in the spirit where they went to heaven and met Enoch, the man who walked with God and was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:24). this person asked Enoch, "How do you walk so near to God that you don't die, you just get taken away?" Enoch's response is so riveting and convicting that it doesn't matter if you don't believe this happened, you can't deny the validity of his statement. Enoch said, "When you learn to not hurt people with your words or with your thoughts, you will walk in God's presence." WHOA! That is one of the most simple yet profound statements i have ever heard, and i think about it every day.

God sees people through the blood of the Son, that means fully cleansed, 100% pure. not to say that He doesn't see their faults and weaknesses. He knows these better than anyone, and is constantly putting men through fire and discipline to purify them. but when He sees the faults, He says, "That's not who you are. All fair you are my darling; there is no flaw in you" (Song of Songs 4:7). this is how He views EVERY believer. no matter what you think about the church next door, THIS is how Jesus views that church. and this is what it means to see through His eyes. if you don't see other Christians, churches, ministries in this way, you do not have His heart, and you do not see as He sees. (of course there's a place for correction and rebuke, i'm not talking about that. i'm talking about criticism). back to Enoch's statement - we want God's presence, to be near Him, but there is a huge role we play in this reality. we decide how close we want to be, and a big part of this is having a pure heart. and a big part of having a pure heart is taking very practical steps to loving people: When you think a negative thought...#1) don't say it, #2) repent for it and ask God to change your heart, #3) purposely and verbally say 3 positive things about that person, #4) thank God for that person/church. that's the essence of it.

this is what God is doing in me, wanted to share with everyone and hopefully inspire :)