Have you ever been around people who have a critical spirit? I've worked with adults and with students and I see the same behaviors. I've seen adults make remarks "Where did she buy that skirt?" in a put-down sort of way. I've seen students call each other names such as "whale" to the overweight girl or "retard" to the boy in special ed.
It has always bothered me. Why do people feel the compulsion to put other people down or criticize them? I have seen mothers with critical spirits and it is as if the child can never measure up to the expectations of the parent.
When this happens, I see the recipient of this criticism beat down. Their inner spirit is just crushed. The words they hear shape their inner voice and who they believe they are. It eventually shapes who they will eventually become, unless they understand who they are in the Lord.
The scripture says in Proverbs 18:21 that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." When we speak words of encouragement and love, we are investing love and hope into people. I think this is SO critical and important to change the thinking in our minds from being critical to positive.
I am also reminded of a wonderful song that D.C. Talk produced years ago called "Colored People." The song focuses on the fact that we are all of different races and need to get along. But, to me, it also emphasizes the fact that we all have our own story.
"Colored People" by DC Talk
Pardon me, your epidermis is showing
I couldn't help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
cause I see (the) beauty in the tones of our skin
We gotta come together, and thank the maker of us all
We're colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We're colored people, and they call us the human race
We've got a history of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a Holy Grace
A piece of canvas is only the beginning
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist's heart
By God's design, we are a skin kaleidoscope
We gotta come together, aren't we all human after all?
Ignorance has wronged some races
And vengeance is the Lord's
If we aspire to share this space
Repentance is the cure
Well, just a day in the shoes of a color blind man
Should make it easy for you to see
That these diverse tones do more than cover our bones
As a part of our anatomy
God made us uniquely special and gifted in our own ways. This world would be so boring if we were all the same. My final thoughts are that we should follow God's Word.
John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.
Luke 6:37
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.
