If you think that I am perfect in this area, then I have news for you! I am not. Not that anyone on the planet thinks that I am.
Criticism is a struggle that we sarcastic people struggle with. It's easy for us to excuse our behavior by saying it's just the way we are. I'm not going to talk about sarcasm because, in and of itself, sarcasm isn't wrong. I do want to talk a bit about criticism and having a critical spirit.
The truth is, criticism isn't wrong either. There is a way to be critical with the end goal being improvement. For instance, companies often will employ an auditor to go through their books and look for error. They do this so that they catch problems before an authority does or just to improve their own books. The auditor is being "critical". He's searching for error, yet he's not doing anything wrong in doing so.
A critical spirit is an attitude of criticism. If you have a critical spirit, then you are the person who finds something wrong in everything. Everyone knows someone like this: a coworker who is constantly complaining about management, a church member who complains about the leadership of the pastor, a family member who always find something to complain about. Not all criticism is bad, but a spirit of criticism is always a bad thing.
So what about being critical to help someone? I mean, it's ok to be critical of the pastor because it keeps him honest right? More often than not, criticism is used to demean or harm rather than correct. A major difference between criticism and a critical spirit is that criticism is usually given directly to the source of the problem, whereas a person with a critical spirit complains to others. It's ok to go to your pastor if you have a genuine concern about something. If you are just wanting to complain you should probably just keep it to yourself. Too often we complain to each other instead of talking to the party responsible.
Also criticism doesn't have to see change to be satisfied. If the auditor sees a problem, he reports it to the correct party and moves on. He's not responsible to force change. A person with a critical spirit will only be happy with the way something is done if they are in charge. If something goes wrong, it's always someone else's fault. It's OK to notice and report an issue, it's not OK to search for problems for the sake of looking smarter or putting someone else down. I think today's news media has a critical spirit. Good news is no news. Only bad news is aired because people have a critical spirit. Should foul play in government be exposed? Yes! But good things should too.
I'm working on this one myself. I am both observant and critical which is a dangerous combo. It's really bad for the observant, critical, perfectionists out there. Thankfully, I'm not also the latter. I'm working on it, and I hope you'll do the same. Next time you're being critical, ask yourself if you are helping anyone or just making everyone miserable.
Keep thinking my friends,
Simeon Brazzell
