I'm watching Joel Osteen. A preacher from Texas. He had a very strong message today, that spoke to my heart.
A lot of times, we can be fault finders. In every situation, we pin point the bad in the good.
A woman looked from her house one day, and saw her neighbor's yard. It was filled with dirty clothes hung unto the clothes line. She told her husband that very day: "That neighbor is one filthy lady, i cant believe she would let her children wear such dirty clothes." The very next day, she looked into her neighbor's yard again, and yet again, saw the same dirty clothes, and yet again shook her head and criticized the neighbor. One day, she looked into her neighbor's yard and saw that the clothes were as bright as could be, clean, spotless, and shinning. She called her husband over to look and asked him: "Did she learn how to wash the clothes...finally?"
Her husband replied: "No honey, I cleaned the window you're looking through right now."
You see, most of the time...and maybe all the time, we find faults in other people. When the fault is found in ourselves. Criticism is an internal issue, which many of use have yet to acknowledge and cure.
Don't allow your mind to be poisoned by other people. When they begin to gossip and criticize a person you are getting to know, walk away. Don't let other people give you a bad portrayal of another person, when you can get to know them better your self.
People have developed a nasty habit of seeing the negative. Finding the cracks in a marbled floor, complaining about traffic on the free way, complaining about the egg when it's fried the wrong way. Why not: Look at the house and look at the 100 good things rather than the 1 bad thing, Thank God for the car you are driving, Thank God for having an egg to eat.
A man told his wife one day to make him scrambled eggs. His wife served the eggs to him. He took a look at it, shook his head. His wife asked him:" whats wrong now?" He said to his wife:" You friend the wrong egg."
People respond to praise rather than criticism!
I know all of us know people that have criticized someone for wearing the clothes they wear, having too many tattoos, or having that kind of hair. Next time they criticize and say: " If I were them, I wouldn't do that" YOU tell them : "Here's the clue, you're not them. Don't judge because you haven't walked in that person's shoe."
I want to pray for the person, not gossip about them.
I want to see the good, instead of the bad.
I want to praise, instead of criticize.
I want to honor God with my speech, instead of using it to poison other minds.
I'm not going to be a fault finder, Instead I'm going to give the benefit of doubt
