Read: Matthew 7:1-5

In whatever you judge another
you condemn yourself; for you
who judge practice the same
things. -Romans 2:1

A church bulletin had a clever poem about criticism
that began:

A little seed lay in the ground
And soon began to sprout;
“Now, which of all the flowers around,
Shall I,” it mused, “come out?”

The seed could then be heard saying, “I don’t care to
be a rose. It has thorns. I have no desire to be a
lily. It’s too colorless. And I certainly wouldn’t
want to be a violet. It’s too small, and it grows too
close to the ground.”

The poem concludes with this verse about that
faultfinding seed:

And so it criticized each flower,
That supercilious seed,
Until it woke one summer hour
And found itself a weed!

The apostle Paul indicated in Romans 12:3 that we are
not to think of ourselves too highly. Rather, we are
“to think soberly.” To the church in Philippi he wrote,
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or
conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others
better than himself” (Phil. 2:3). When we fail to
follow these instructions and begin finding fault with
others, we are actually passing judgment on ourselves
(Mt. 7:1-2; Rom. 2:1-3).

A good cure for a critical spirit is an honest look at
ourselves – not at others.
-Richard W. De Haan

When you see faults in someone else,
Before you criticize, beware;
For you have flaws and failures too
That other people have to bear. -Sper

BE PATIENT WITH THE FAULTS OF OTHERS;
THEY HAVE TO BE PATIENT WITH YOURS.

OUR DAILY BREAD, Copyright 1999 by Radio Bible Class,
Grand Rapids,Michigan. Used by permission.