Jan

Tuesday Town Hall 14…Criticism

townhall-2 Last week’s discussion brought out a number of things that people do not like about church, theology and such. There is a lot of information there to digest and see if we can come up with ideas and solutions.

There are almost always some things that get to us that just really do not matter. As for these, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us drop and get over them. But a lot of us do have some valid pet peeves and some of us do not. There just is no question about that.

But when we do see a problem, what do we do. A lot of times we resort to criticism.

This brings me to my questions for this week.

Do you criticize people, things, systems, beliefs, etc?

How often do you think you criticize?

When you criticize, do you think of solutions before resorting to just criticism?

And finally, is criticism necessary at all?

I know some of you may shy away from this one, but I ask you to boldly go where you might have never gone before. Remember, it’s just a blog.

Love you all

Tags: Belief, Discussion, Holy Spirit, Love, Theology, Townhall, Tuesday

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 at 12:05 am and is filed under Townhall Tuesday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

26 comments so far

Connie

Yes I do criticize….daily I suppose. I am sure we all do if we think about it. To criticize is merely to openly point out faults or judge.

We criticize other beliefs, the government, our family members, teachers, movies, clothes, television programs……almost everything. Sometimes I try to think of a solution first and sometimes I already know the solution beforehand (hence the criticism). When we all named our Pet Peeves last week, that was criticism.

I think criticism is necessary in some cases. For instance if my child had a school teacher that was teaching Darwinism in class, I would certainly criticize that. If I kept quiet and did nothing, it would or could affect my child’s salvation. I suppose the necessity would depend on the situation.

It’s almost 1:00 in the morning. I may think of a different point of view when I wake up later. This is an interesting post. C’mon yall, be brave.

January 13th, 2009 at 12:44 am

Doug

Tough…..

I feel as though I am too critical sometimes and I really don’t want to be viewed that way. The saying that you never knock on someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes is always a good moto IMO.

I have found myself being critical of preaching/preachers, and it really bugs me when I catch myself griping this way. There are several thoughts I have on this. 1) if you think you can do so much better then get your happy rearend up behind a pulpit and go to it. (it is not as easy as one might think) 2.) If you do not feel you are being fed, or challenged then go somewhere else where you feel as though you are.

A church is full of people at different walks with the Lord. Sonny has been a christian for less than 10 years, yet he has a better understanding of the scripture and knowledge than people that have lived over 50 years of their life as a christian. Ministers have a difficult time preaching up to the knowledgeable folks and down to the less knowledgeable. I think as a congregation we have to sort of find where we fit in. If you feel as though the messages are not at your level be it above or below….then go somewhere else and get what you need. It is easy to be critical and sit around and do nothing about it. I try to use the rule of thumb of this. If your not willing to do something about it yourself then don’t gripe about it. Sort of like what we as a group are talking about doing with the people “our” age.

January 13th, 2009 at 7:16 am

Heath

I am full of sugar, not vinegar. I never criticize…

By the way, this is a stupid topic. I am sure you could have come up with something better if you had tried…

January 13th, 2009 at 8:39 am

Heath

No honestly, we all criticize… no, we don’t think it through, do it too often, and rarely offer solutions. But still, criticism is completely needed.

I remember to this day a simple sentance my roomate in college made about my personality… It hurt to hear, but he was completely correct and I needed to know it about myself. If he had not been upfront with me, it might have taken me years to address that part of my personality and could have caused me and others much hurt…

Sometimes we do not need an answer, we only need to see the problem and we can figure out the answer on our own.

But being critical should always have a purpose… and that purpose should be to correct something, not to harm. If we are criticising to hurt, we are acting outside the law of love and are sinning.

January 13th, 2009 at 8:45 am

Julie

We all have our own opinion on everything and we want things done our way. To me, that’s why we criticize. Some may do it more than others, depending on your personality – if you’re outspoken or the shy type. I believe criticizm can be out of love, jealousy, just to get attention or a laugh, and anger. Criticizm is definately necessary in order to provoke change in human beings as well as methods and procedures.

January 13th, 2009 at 9:00 am

Wayne

As Doug said: If your not willing to do something about it yourself then don’t gripe about it. Sort of like what we as a group are talking about doing with the people “our” age.

We can come up with ideas and we can come up with action plans but we can’t be discouraged if things start slowly. We can’t quit after 3 trys and say, well everybody is all talk and nobody wants to do anything. Might as well quit. Sometimes you have to be stubborn and we have plenty of those at Alabaster

We should always challenge in a way that says maybe there is a better way. Maybe there is a easier way.

Is there a difference in being critical vs being negative?

January 13th, 2009 at 10:08 am

Sonny

Good question concerning criticism and negativity and I believe there is a huge difference.

January 13th, 2009 at 10:19 am

Tammy

Of course I criticize…
Too often as of late…
Sometimes I seek a solution…
I only think it is necessary if the one bringing the criticism is doing it with the right motive.
To ultimately edify or help that person or situation to improve.
Criticize has a negative definition, so in that context, maybe the answer is no, for the most part!

I do not think I like this subject.
I used to never be a critical person, mostly keeping my opinion to myself. Now, it seems I cannot keep anything to myself. I share mostly with my husband who is a rock when it comes to secrets.
Like Doug, I do not want to be known or remembered as critical.
I have always found it very easy to see something in every one worth complimenting.
I can still see it, but I do not always let them know. Now the opposite seems to be true, as well.

It seems for me that once it is brought to my attention I become more aware and do honestly try to change it. That is my goal.

There are several things that I may need lots of prayer to overcome…
Red book hymnals that we can never make sound like they are supposed to…
TRAFFIC…I may need God to keep some of the crazy drivers off the road while I travel in order to get this one under control!!!
I guess I am getting quite good at criticizing, but I plan to change that unless it is to glorify in some way.
I just had to use them since they are there!!!
Love and joy!

January 13th, 2009 at 2:03 pm

Sonny

That is simply a blatant abuse of emoticons. And by the way, that is why it had to be moderated.

Love you

January 13th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

john

yes of course I criticize but not nearly as much as I use to. As i continue to study and work on forgiveness I have come to realize that criticism is often just another form of non -forgiveness . It is our way of punishing someone or something for not conforming to or fulfilling our needs. I’m sure Sonny will point out that there are often times when criticism is constructive and needed,and he is correct about this. I have found that alot of the time it is best for me to wait and be sure of my motives before i criticize becouse often i will realize that my motives arent as pure as i originially thought.

January 13th, 2009 at 5:03 pm

Tammy

If I were a rebellious sort, I may do something like this…

Now this is a blatant abuse of the emoticons

I just had to do it!

the devil did not make me

Love you

Remember folks, try not to criticize!!

January 13th, 2009 at 7:18 pm

Connie

I’m still praying for a smiley with a Peace Sign.
Love you all.

January 13th, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Sonny

You and Tammy are going to make me have to rethink the whole smiley thing.

Is this a subtle criticism from you both?

Love you all

January 13th, 2009 at 9:43 pm

john

January 13th, 2009 at 9:46 pm

Sonny

Last, not so subtle warning

If you want to play take it to the forum

Self control is a fruit of the Spirit and it was just discussed recently.

Love you all

January 13th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

Heath

Ok, you people really don’t know what real abuse is… this is abuse:

And that is just row 1….

January 13th, 2009 at 11:22 pm

Sonny

I never would have dreamed such small things could entertain so many people.

You all do realize I have supreme control over this domain. There is only one Lord but I am the Underlord here and your toys can be taken away.

But at least you are sharing.

See, that is self control.

I wonder if the topic of this post is hopelessly lost at this point.

Love you all

January 13th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Tammy

Sorry!

No the topic is not lost at his point!

Maybe, just maybe we were trying to keep you from telling us who wins the
“wrongest one in the room!”

I will make you a deal, you be a good sport and I will refrain from using all of the smiley’s in my next post!!!
Love you

January 14th, 2009 at 2:58 pm

john

Tammy I see why he named you “precious”

January 14th, 2009 at 3:49 pm

Wayne

That is all I have to say

January 14th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

Sonny

I added a bunch of these to the forum since everyone seems to like them so much.

Or are all of you just trying to annoy me?

It’s not working if that is the case.

Love you all

January 14th, 2009 at 5:12 pm

Tammy

I just wanted to say how cool it is that after you put this topic out there, I have heard at least 3 different things on criticism.
Focus on the family, Family matters and Family for life have all had moments or shows on criticism in the past couple of days.
I always take that as confirmation!!
Love you

What do you mean, John?
I am keeping my word!!!
No smileys

January 16th, 2009 at 10:36 am

Heath

well, I had forgotten about this thread, but wanted to revisit it, because I have something important to add: