Red Letter Christians – Part Six – Avoiding a Critical, Fault-Finding Spirit
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A1-6&version=NLV
Head/Mind – Helpful Information
This may be the most popular verse among secular Western people. Anytime Christians or other traditional people object to something on moral grounds, secular people love to quote Jesus saying, “Judge not;” as if Jesus wants us to be moral relativists who are not allow to talk about or even think about moral standards. The idea, they imply, is that Jesus was okay with every sort of behavior, with no regard for moral standards. That is simply not true.
In the rest of Matthew chapter seven, Jesus spends considerable time explaining the dangers of some kinds of behaviors, warning us to be very careful not to follow the example of those do them, or to be led astray by an anything goes way of living.
Hear some of Jesus’ words from chapter 7: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the Law.
There is no way to read this and think that Jesus is asking us to refrain from ever making a moral evaluation of the things we hear and see in this world. Jesus is very clear that some behaviors and teachings are dangerous to one’s soul.
So, what is Jesus warning us of when he says to not judge? I think that he is warning us of the dangers of developing a overly critical, fault-finding spirit.
In a wicked age and culture like our own, it is very easy to become so suspicious and critical of those around us that our hearts grow cold and void of love.
Jesus says these words to one of the churches in Revelation 2:
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name,and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
Friends, there is much that is broken about our world. We live in a very sick culture, filled with many wicked things. We can easily make so many moral compromises that we end up just as broken and spiritually sick. But there is an equal danger that we end up not seeing all that is right with the world and all that is still good about our culture, leading us to begin bitter, cold-hearted people.
Heart – The Evil Eye and the Good Eye
Let me introduce you to an old Jewish concept and one of the strange sayings of Jesus. First, the strange saying from Jesus. In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
What the heck is Jesus talking about? The ancient Jewish concepts of the good eye (עַיִן טוֹבָה, ayin tovah) and the evil eye (עַיִן רָעָה, ayin ra’ah) are tied to attitudes of generosity and envy, as well as how one views and interacts with others. These ideas are deeply rooted in Jewish teachings and reflect moral and spiritual attitudes.
The Good Eye (Ayin Tovah)
Having a “good eye” refers to a positive, generous outlook on life and others. Someone with a good eye:
- Sees others with kindness: They rejoice in others’ success and well-being.
- Is generous: They willingly share their resources and blessings, believing that what they have is a gift from God meant to be shared.
- Trusts God’s provision: They are confident that God provides abundantly and that giving to others won’t diminish their own supply.
For example, in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 5:19, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says that a person with a good eye is one of the students of Abraham, who epitomized generosity and hospitality by welcoming strangers and wishing the best for others.
The Evil Eye (Ayin Ra’ah)
The “evil eye” represents a negative, envious attitude. Someone with an evil eye:
- Is jealous or resentful: They feel bitterness toward the success or prosperity of others.
- Is selfish or stingy: They are unwilling to share their resources, fearing scarcity.
- Spreads negativity: Their envious attitude can create tension, harm relationships, and even lead to their own unhappiness.
In Jewish thought, an evil eye can also have a mystical component: the idea that envy or ill will toward others can create spiritual harm or “negative energy” that affects both the envious person and the one they envy. This concept appears in texts like the Talmud (Berakhot 20a), which warns against inviting the jealousy of others by flaunting wealth or success.
Let me make this even easier for you to understand. The concepts of the evil and eye and the good eye teach us that you will find what you are looking for. It is called confirmation bias or the law of attraction. If you are looking for bad things, expecting negative outcomes, and disappointment with others, you will find it. One who is looking for confirmation that the world is a bad place and that people are no good, will find all of the evidence they want and more.
But, the same is true for those who look for evidence that the world is still and good and beautiful place and that people are still worth loving and investing in will find what they are looking for. If you have a negative outlook on life, you will find the world to be a negative place; while, if you have a positive outlook on life, you will find the world to be a positive place.
Hands – for the Practical Application I am going to show you how prone we all are to this negative way of looking at things. And my reason for doing this is so that we can each get better at guarding against having an overly critical, fault-finding attitude.
In Luke 18, Jesus tells this story:
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth-of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
This is a religious man, who had lived a very self-disciplined life of service and self-sacrifice looked down on the sinful man. Now, the very skeptical may think, “Well, I bet the religious guy had a mistress on the side and cheated on his taxes.” But we don’t know that. For all we know, this man had lived an upstanding life. The point is that he thought that he was better than the other man, because of that, and that he was more deserving of God’s love.
Now that you know that, you may be thinking to yourself, well, I’m glad I’m not like that judgmental, religious jerk. And, it is at that moment that you have stepped right into the trap of this parable. You have just committed the same sin as the Pharisee. The Pharisee judged the other man, and now, you have judged the Pharisee. This parable points out just how prone we all are to find the faults in others, while being blind to our own.
The point of the parable is not to tie us up in knots. After all, the better you get at being humble the more prone you are to being arrogant about it. The point is not to get us into this kind of mental wrestling match with ourselves. The point is to learn to see ourselves and others though the generous, merciful eyes of grace.