How Hard Is It To Live In Faith And Not Be Criticized?

January 9, 2017 Restoration Magazine 0 Comments

I know you are used to my countdowns but this month I have to take a different approach. The countdowns will return I promise

One of the toughest parts of finding comfort in attending a church home as well as discussing your beliefs is the fear of judgment and/or criticism. Everywhere you turn there seems to be someone that has something to say about what you are doing or how you are living. You’re sitting in church and the old lady is staring you down because she doesn’t like your lip gloss……….

Now how am I supposed to concentrate on what the speaker is saying if you’re constantly staring back at me like this?

There has been so many people who have crossed my path who has said that the main reason they gave up on faith/religion/church was because of the treatment from the “saints.” There are way too many holier than though people looking at you with a side-eye, instead of talking to you and trying to help you to understand. You might have a straight sinner sitting in the pews, but if their true intentions are to seek His kingdom, why are we focused on all of their sins? Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

If you have a person that has sinned and they truly desire to walk after the Spirit of God, why would you sit there and focus on condemning them? This is especially true if you could be showing them the goodness of what happens when they continue to walk after the Spirit.

“Church folks” waste so much energy focusing on negativity that it takes away from the genuine saints who are truly there to worship and love the sinners enough to help them get to the point that they can worship as well. Why would I as a sinner want to sit in the pews only to have to sit under the critical eyes of “church folks”? How would David have felt if every time he went to pray the old church lady was staring at him over her glasses all evil looking? I know that may be an exaggeration, but you get my point right?

The other criticism that comes up when I hear discussions on faith stems around judgment. People are very quick to say, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” or “All have sinned and come short of the glory” when people discuss their beliefs against something that is not of the Bible.

I was watching a clip of this preacher condemning folks for teaching against something that the Bible specifically says is wrong and his justification was, “Well if you are going to condemn somebody then why did you do xyz?” Why does it always come down to tit for tat when faith is involved? Folks are real quick to bring up your past to justify what they are doing now. They say things like, “Well you can’t judge me for eating pork because you used to eat it too.” The key word here would be ‘used to’. We are too busy pointing fingers instead of focusing on what the word says.

The Bible does not say all will continue to sin it says all HAVE sinned….that means you have the opportunity to change. You won’t get that change if you are focusing on all of the wrong things. If you’re the old lady too busy turned around criticizing someone with your nose in the air, you are probably missing out on a valuable lesson the preacher is delivering today. If you focus on the sins your friend had in the past to justify what you are doing now, you will never got to a point where you can grow, repent, and be delivered.