Are You a Constant Faultfinder?

It is easy to get into the habit of constantly criticizing and finding faults in others. But is this how the Bible teaches us we are to use our tongue?

For many years Spokesman’s Club was a program designed to teach men in God’s Church how to be public speakers. It was a great tool that taught thousands of men how to speak fluently and helped some develop the ability to give sermonettes and sermons.

One of the reasons men grew in their speaking ability was because of the evaluator. In the program, after each man gave his speech to the club, his evaluator would stand and give an evaluation.

That meant that while the speaker was giving his speech, the evaluator was closely critiquing him on the content and mechanics of his speech. Was he relaxed and confident in his material? Was the speech well organized? Did he have good eye contact? Were his gestures good? And so on, covering many miscellaneous points.

Evaluations helped the men overcome bad speaking habits and hone their skills of speaking in public.

More criticism or appreciation?

At a Feast of Tabernacles in the early 1970s in Jekyll Island, Georgia, the late John Bald gave an excellent sermon on appreciating one another. In that sermon, he made a statement that has stuck with me. He said we need to “evaluate less and appreciate more.”

Without realizing it, we can get into the habit of constantly evaluating and passing judgment on others. Although evaluating a speech is good in a speech club, being a constant negative evaluator of other people is not good!

Consider some examples of this characteristic in action:

• Some constantly criticize their spouse for real or perceived weaknesses.
• Some constantly criticize anything that others do differently than they do.
• Some constantly criticize those who have hurt them in the past.
• Some constantly criticize almost everyone they come in contact with (other drivers, coworkers, children and Church members).

Wisdom from the book of James

The apostle James understood the danger of using words to tear down. He devoted much of his book to the destructive use of the tongue. Notice three of his admonitions:

• James 1:26: “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.”
• James 4:11: “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.”
• James 5:9: “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned, Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!”

Constant faultfinding has many negative consequences for us—one of which is a self-righteous attitude. We are essentially saying that we don’t have all the faults others have. People who constantly do this are often subconsciously trying to deflect attention from their own faults. Instead, God wants us to look inward and focus on correcting our own faults (James 1:23-25).

Instead of constantly finding faults in others, we can strive to be characterized as someone who constantly strengthens and encourages others. Let’s remember the admonition Mr. Bald gave nearly 30 years ago:

Evaluate less and appreciate more.

For further insight into how we should use our tongue, read “Taming the Tongue: What the Bible Says About Gossip” and “Speak the Truth in Love.”