This Month's Challenge (#7)

This Month’s Challenge (#7)

Alex D. Ogden

In our society today there are all types of people and many of them can be found in the body of Christ as well. There are those who are constantly thinking about the other person and what would be best for them, and there are also those who are constantly thinking about themselves and how to insure that they get their rightful share. There are pessimists and there are optimists; conservative and liberal; open and closed; humble and prideful minds.

There is also the hypercritical mind, the mind which cannot see anything good in others. Jesus condemned this type of mind in Matthew 7:1,2 when He said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.” The cure for this type of mind was given in the verses which followed. He told them to first remove the beam from their own eye before trying to remove the speck in the eye of others (7:3-5). Before focusing our critical eye on others we need to focus it on ourselves and deal with our own problems and deficiencies. Once we’ve humbled ourselves to acknowledge and correct our own sins, we will not quickly condemn others for the shortcomings in their lives. We will, rather, be more inclined to offer a helping hand instead of a critical comment.

The challenge I would like to issue for this month is this:

Don’t allow yourself to say anything negative about
another person. Instead, force yourself to
find something good to say about them.

The apostle Paul clearly teaches this principle in Ephesians 4:29 when he says: “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.” Our speech is to be such that will edify, or build up, spiritually. Thus, we need to stop and think carefully about the things we are saying to make sure it will make others stronger in the faith or draw them unto Christ instead of being something which tears them down or drives them from the Lord.

Jesus said, “The good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things: and the evil man out of his evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matt.12:35). Will you show yourself to be “good” or “evil” over the next month? Are you up to the challenge?