See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. -Heb. 3;12-14 NIV
Sometimes, we have a tendency to be short on encouragement and long on judgment. Is that because critiquing makes us feel better about ourselves? It shouldn't, because I have found that most often the faults I see in others are manifest even more so in my own life. If I accuse others of gossip, I need to re-examine my own words and even more importantly my thoughts. Just as Jesus said that if one looks at another woman, they are guilty of adultery, if I harbor suspicious thoughts about others, even to myself, I am guilty of gossip. Jesus sets the bar high so that we are forced to examine our own secret thoughts, our wishes, our desires.
The antidote for a criticizing nature is encouragement, lavish encouragement of those we would accuse of sins of which we are just as guilty. Paul doesn't mean that we are to encourage others in their sins, but that we are to encourage others that they are on the same journey towards righteousness as we are. Sometimes the best encouragement for someone else is our confession that we struggle with the same temptations. Sharing in Christ means sharing the truth about ourselves so that others are encouraged and we experience our own growth at the same time.
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