Compassion not Criticism

OK I'm super excited! My post about OnTheBrightSide has been featured on their website HERE! Its not much but I thought it was just so awesome! Hopefully will bring in some traffic to my here blog :)

In other news, I'm well!! I feel much better! 

So, in our devotional this morning it was talking about having the compassion of Christ. My heart was instantly convicted. I do struggle in this area. 

I can say that God has changed my heart over the years and I'm not as critical. This post kind of goes hand in hand with my post about Graciousness. 

Being able to let go of the wrongs and forgive. 

Well the attitude criticism is a bit different from unforgiveness or showing some one grace. 

Criticism:

• The judger is called "the critic".
• To engage in criticism is "to criticize".
• One specific item of criticism is called "a criticism".

This article provides information only about basic kinds of criticism, which are used generally by almost everybody at one time or another (for more specific types or areas of criticism, see the list at the bottom of this page, the (incomplete) category list for "criticism", Varieties of criticism and the criticism of (disambiguation) page).

Criticism can be:

• directed toward a person or an animal; at a group, authority or organization; at a specific behaviour; or at an object of some kind (an idea, a relationship, a condition, a process, or a thing).
• personal (delivered directly from one person to another, in a personal capacity), or impersonal (expressing the view of an organization, and not aimed at anyone personally).
• highly specific and detailed, or very abstract and general.
• verbal (expressed in language) or non-verbal (expressed symbolically, or expressed through an action or a way of behaving).
• explicit (the criticism is clearly stated) or implicit (a criticism is implied by what is being said, but it is not stated openly).
• the result of critical thinking[1] or spontaneous impulse.

source

After reading this... I can see where I've done these things. I have been guilty of a critical spirit/attitude.

For instance I've been guilty in the past to have no patients with some one who is struggling with their faith. To me its a no brainer. God is God. How can someone doubt that? What is wrong with you that you can see that is so amazing?

I was critical of their behavior. If they were claiming to be Christian and continued to struggle or blatantly sinned... Well you can imagine the self-righteous anger I felt. How horrible these people were!

Now, I'm not saying that their sin wasn't sin. And that God may have not been pleased. But my job isn't to judge them or to make sure they know their wrong. NO. My job is to LOVE. To SHOW them how God tells us to be.

I didn't have that compassion for people's faults. In fact I struggle still with my own faults. When I was younger I refused to see my own sin and faults... I was so zealous.

I made a measuring stick in my head for people and if they didn't make the mark, well they were wrong. My critical spirit affected my relationships. And I still work on mending them today. My measuring stick for myself is even worse, but thats another post.

But PRAISE THE LORD for his forgiveness, mercy, and grace. He changed my heart. Not saying I don't struggle, but God has placed a compassion in my heart...

Before you get offended, angry, self-righteous, judgmental remember... You DO NOT know their hearts or stories. Be compassionate. Serve them , love them, pray for them. Thats YOUR job. Let God do his. Because if we working on our relationship with him we would be too busy to worry about someone else's.

Do you know why I feel this is so important? Because Christ was MOVED with compassion.

^{Mark 1:40 (AI)}And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and ^(AJ)falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.

^{Matthew 9:35 (F)}And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ^36 (G)When he saw the crowds, ^(H)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^(I)like sheep without a shepherd.

^{Matthew 14: 13} Now when Jesus heard this, ^(B)he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.**He has just learned the John the Baptist his cousin, had been beheaded.** But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he went ashore he ^(C)saw a great crowd, and ^(D)he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

 Christ was MOVED with compassion. Even when he was grieving, his compassion for the ones struggling over came that and he helped OTHERS. Not himself. 

Lord, may I not be so wrapped up in me that I forget I'm here to serve, love, and pray. Let me not be critical father, but have compassion and love sweep through my heart! Let it all be unto your Glory! -Amen