Cutting Out Criticism

Below is an excerpt from Catherine Marshall's A Closer Walk.

"One morning last week He [God] gave me an assignment: for one day I was to go on a “fast” from criticism. I was not to criticize anybody about anything. For the first half of the day, I simply felt a void, almost as if I had been wiped out as a person. This was especially true at lunch....I listened to the others and kept silent....In our talkative family no one seemed to notice. Bemused, I noticed that my comments were not missed. The federal government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along fine without my penetrating observations. But still I didn’t see what this fast on criticism was accomplishing–until mid-afternoon. That afternoon, a specific, positive vision for this life was dropped into my mind with God’s unmistakable hallmark on it–joy! Ideas began to flow in a way I had not experienced in years. Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with. What it had done was stifle my own creativity."

What a challenge for us today, but what a freedom that comes with it!

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me." Psalm 25:4-5