5 Ways to Cure a Critical Spirit -- On Revive Our Hearts

The acid we used in Chemistry class burned everything it touched. It ate a hole in a block of wood, etched deep scars in a metal basin, and permanently marred a plastic tabletop. 

We donned goggles and gloves and used special beakers designed to hold the caustic liquid, but we were still hesitant and afraid. Our teacher’s warnings had put a healthy fear of injury in our minds. Many opted out of the experiment, and the rest of us performed the necessary steps as quickly and carefully as possible, relieved when we could rid ourselves of the poisonous fluid. 

Now that I’ve stepped out of the classroom and into the laboratory of life, I’ve discovered a parallel to the acid we experimented with in high school. Psychologists call it a critical spirit. It doesn’t come with a warning label, but its characteristics are similarly destructive. 

Critical words eat holes in tender souls. 

Critical minds etch deep scars in families, marriages, and friendships. 

Critical hearts mar forever the shine and beauty of faith, hope, and love. 

Threatening to steal the joy from everything that isn’t perfect and everyone who falls short of its expectations, a critical spirit is a ravenous beast that devours many an honest effort, loving gesture, or kind deed with nary a backward glance. 

A critical spirit poisons every relationship it touches. The pressure of an impossible standard is too heavy to bear. Those in relationship with one who possesses a critical spirit are always trying and always falling short. Sometimes they stop trying altogether. 

Three poisonous roots support the critical spirit tree:

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Refresh Your Faith contains 66 culturally relevant, story-driven devotions, one from each book of the Bible. Each real-life story spotlights an unusual verse or Bible passage that you may have overlooked in your usual Bible reading. Lori Hatcher challenges you with additional features like an uncommon thought to ponder; an unusual faith action step; and an unfamiliar passage suggestion for additional Bible reading.

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