What if??

Sometimes I sit and wonder about things... about a 'perfect' world... course there is always the usual thoughts of a world without poverty, without violence, evil, etc... but then lately I have been thinking about criticism... part of my thoughts come from the fact that I strive to criticize my children less and encourage them more, simply because I see how much they blossom with positive encouragement and gentle leading rather than cutting down and criticizing. But then I have to take this beyond just putting it into practice in my household... what if I stopped criticizing my fellow missionaries, my fellow classmates, my supervisors, my friends? I would love to say that I never do these things.. but I know that I do... and most of all I criticize myself... oh yes... I am ever so judgmental of myself... Many years ago when I was in counseling in high school... my counselor told me that I had extremely high expectations of myself... and of course that led to very high expectations of those close to me.... I thought she was nuts! (Remember the first step of recovery is denial!) I have matured some over the years (really I have).. and have come to see that yes, I do pretty much demand perfection of myself... and I have to be very careful not to demand it of others... But.. this isn't about me and my shortcomings... I was just thinking of how much nicer the world would be if we encouraged rather than tore down... I mean... think of it... wouldn't you LIKE to go to work if your boss and your co workers encouraged you rather than criticized you every time you made a mistake... Wouldn't students WANT to learn if their teachers, professors, administrators showed compassion towards each other and didn't tear each other down like packs of wolves? Hmmm... it's an interesting thought! I remember a class in high school with a teacher that loved to pick on a few students... really, just a few from the whole class... and he would criticize the papers, thought process, etc... of these few students... who always happen to be Christians who would stand up for their beliefs... He would ridicule and humiliate them till sometimes they would quit the class or end up being so meek and afraid they wouldn't say anything in class... ever! Now... do you think these students learned anything valuable from this teacher? Probably not! What a waste!
Now... I know we all have our days where we are tired and irritated... trust me... I have those every so often! ;) But.. I am reminded of a speaker who spoke at a Family Life Marriage seminar once... he was talking about spouses who say things in anger, declaring that they just were so mad they didn't truly have control of themselves... he asked this question... If.. in the middle of your argument, a person rang your doorbell or your phone rang... would you be able to stop yourself and nicely say 'hello'? If so... then you have control... So... here's the question for us Christians... when we find ourselves criticizing or cutting another down... if Jesus himself walked in the room... could we stop ourselves? If the answer is yes (and I'm pretty sure that it's always yes)... then maybe we should learn to 'bite our tongues' as my mother used to say! Or maybe she used to say "If you can't say something nice... then don't say anything at all"... You know.. one of those mother sayings!
Phew... if you made it through this little trail of my self reflection... then way to go! I think I'll step off my little soapbox now before nobody wants to read my blog anymore! Really this is more just my own convictions for myself, but since it's my blog and you choose to read it.. I guess you get a front row seat to my inner convictions (or at least some of them!) LOL God Bless! (P.S. I'll put pictures on my next post... really!)