https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fault-Finding.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Thessalonians 5:11-18<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The golden rule – Romans 13:9-10<\/p>\n
A. Much of our life is involved in relating to other people.<\/p>\n
1. We need the cooperation of others in so many ways.<\/p>\n
2. And so many people are just plain hard to get along with.<\/p>\n B. God’s laws are easily summed up in one little command to love your neighbor as\nyourself.\n
1. Treat people the way you expect them to treat you<\/p>\n
2. But that is much easier said than done.<\/p>\n
3. We tend to give ourselves exceptions to the rule.<\/p>\n
C. Criminals will justify themselves, no matter how heinous the crime<\/p>\n 1. In 1931 a dangerous criminal was captured in New York City in a large\nshootout. “Two Gun” Crowley was described as the most dangerous\ncriminal apprehended. The police commissioner stated that “He will kill at\nthe drop of a feather.” What led to the shootout was that Crowley was\nsnuggling with his girlfriend in a car on a country road on Long Island. A\npoliceman approached the car and asked to see his license. Without a word\nCrowley pulled out a gun and shot the officer repeatedly. He then jumped\nout of the car took the officer’s gun and shot him again.\n a. Nasty, heartless fellow? How did he see himself? “Under my coat\nis a weary heart, but a kind one that would do nobody harm.”\n b. He was sentenced to death in an electric chair. Was there any\nremorse? “This is what I get for defending myself.”\n 2. This is not unusual. Al Capone, the notorious public enemy number one,\nsaid, “I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter\npleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the\nexistence of a hunted man.”\n D. Dale Carnegie noted “People don’t criticize themselves for anything, no matter\nhow wrong it may be.” – Psalms 36:1-4\n
II. But people are quick to spot “wrong” in others<\/p>\n A. The Pharisees, having no love for Jesus or his followers, were quick to point out\nflaws – Mark 7:1-2\n 1. It did not enter their minds that by law what was being done was not\nwrong. It was just different from their traditions\n 2. But when dealing with people you usually are not dealing with creatures of\nlogic but of emotions\n
3. It is almost a matter of “Don’t bother me with the facts. I’m mad!”<\/p>\n B. People criticize when they don’t have all the facts. They jump to conclusions,\nwhich frequently turn out to be unfounded – Proverbs 25:8-10\n 1. We need to try and understand people before rebuking them. Not just what\nthey have done but also attempting to understand why.\n 2. A Dr. Johnson once said, “God himself, sir, does not propose to judge man\nuntil the end of his days.”\n
a. By this he is referring to I Corinthians 4:5<\/p>\n b. We are so quick to reach conclusions when we don’t have all the\nfacts.\n
C. They find fault even though no harm has been done them – Proverbs 3:30<\/p>\n D. But sorriest of all is a person who cannot see himself in another man’s shoes –\nMatthew 7:1-5\n
III. The element that is missing is concern for our fellow man.<\/p>\n
A. We want to tear down rather than work to build another up.<\/p>\n
1. There are things not worth fighting over – II Timothy 2:23-26<\/p>\n a. Notice the motivation – a concern for others and a desire to save\nthem.\n
2. A fool vents his feelings (NKJV) – Proverbs 29:11<\/p>\n
B. “Father Forgets” by W. Livingston Larned<\/p>\nListen, son: I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek and the\nblond curls stickily wet on your damp forehead. I have stolen into your room alone. Just a few\nminutes ago, as I sat reading my paper in the library, a stifling wave of remorse swept over me.\nGuiltily, I came to your bedside.\n
\nThere are the things I was thinking, son: I had been cross to you. I scolded you as you were\ndressing for school because you gave your face merely a dab with a towel. I took you to task for\nnot cleaning your shoes. I called out angrily when you threw some of your things on the floor.\nAt breakfast, I found fault, too. You spilled things. You gulped down your food. You put your\nelbows on the table. You spread butter too thick on your bread. And as you started off to play and\nI made for my train, you turned and waved a hand and called, “Goodbye, Daddy!” and I frowned\nand said in reply, “Hold your shoulders back!”\n
\nThen it began all over again in the late afternoon. As I came up the road, I spied you down on\nyour knees playing marbles. There were holes in your stockings. I humiliated you before your\nboyfriends by marching you ahead of me to the house. Stockings were expensive — and if you\nhad to buy them, you would be more careful! Imagine that, son, from a father!\n
\nDo you remember, later, when I was reading in the library, how you came in timidly, with a sort\nof hurt look in your eyes? When I glanced up over my paper, impatient at the interruption, you\nhesitated at the door. “What is it you want?” I snapped.\n
\nYou said nothing, but ran across in one tempestuous plunge and threw your arms around my neck\nand kissed me, and your small arms tightened with an affection that God had set blooming in\nyour heart and which even neglect could not wither. And then you were gone, pattering up the\nstairs.\n
\nWell, son, shortly afterward, my paper slipped from my hands and a terrible sickening fear came\nover me. What has habit been doing to me? The habit of finding fault, of reprimanding — this\nwas my reward to you for being a boy. It was not that I did not love you; it was that I expected\ntoo much of youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years.\nAnd there was so much that was good and fine and true in your character. The little heart of you\nwas as big as the dawn itself over the wide hills. This was shown by your spontaneous impulse to\nrush in and kiss me good night. Nothing else matters tonight, son. I have come to your bedside in\nthe darkness, and I have knelt there, ashamed!\n
\nIt is a feeble atonement; I know you would not understand these things if I told them to you\nduring your waking hours. But tomorrow, I will be a real daddy! I will chum with you, and suffer\nwhen you suffer, and laugh when you laugh. I will bite my tongue when impatient words come. I\nwill keep saying as if it were a ritual: “He is nothing but a boy — a little boy!”\n
\nI am afraid I have visualized you as a man. Yet as I see you now, son, crumpled and weary in\nyour cot, I see that you are still a baby. Yesterday you were in your mother’s arms, your head on\nher shoulder. I have asked too much, too much.\n
<\/p>\n C. Rebukes have their place, but far too often and with far too many people, we fail\nto examine our motivation; we fail to consider what it is like to be on the\nreceiving end; we don’t balance our words with praise; we don’t temper our words\nwith love – I Corinthians 13:1-8\n
1. I would rather be rebuked by the righteous – Psalm 141:5<\/p>\n 2. The wise have your best interest in mind. The fool finds it uplifting to\nbring another down – Ecclesiastes 7:5\n
3. A friend loves his friend – Proverbs 27:6<\/p>\n
4. Rebuke without hate – Leviticus 19:17-18<\/p>\n
IV. How we say things matters<\/p>\n
A. An approach that strives not to cause a quarrel – II Timothy 2:23-26<\/p>\n 1. Hans Seilye once said, “As much as we thirst for approval, we dread\ncondemnation.”\n 2. We should realize that criticism encourages a person to justify themselves\nbecause it wounds their pride.\n
a. Now pride is not a good thing. It is something we all should battle.<\/p>\n
b. We don’t want to be like the scoffer – Proverbs 9:8<\/p>\n c. Yet, when we approach another with a problem, we should be\nsensitive not to unnecessarily get another person’s dander up.\n d. The goal is to get a person to do better, not to encourage him to\nentrench himself in his problem – Proverbs 15:32\n
B. “Hard Hats” by Dale Carnegie<\/p>\nGeorge B. Johnston of Enid, Oklahoma, is the safety coordinator for an engineering company.\nOne of his responsibilities is to see that employees wear their hard hats whenever they are on the\njob in the field. He reported that whenever he came across workers who were not wearing hard\nhats, he would tell them with a lot of authority of the regulation and that they must comply. As a\nresult, he would get sullen acceptance, and often after he left, the workers would remove the hats.He decided to try a different approach. The next time he found some of the workers not wearing\ntheir hard hats, he asked if the hats were uncomfortable or did not fit properly. Then he reminded\nthe men in a pleasant tone of voice that the hat was designed to protect them from injury and\nsuggested that it always be worn on the job. The result was increased compliance with the\nregulation with no resentment or emotional upset.\n
1. The same goal was desired. <\/p>\n
2. A rebuke was delivered in both cases<\/p>\n 3. But the result was vastly different because the later method expressed\nconcern for his fellow man.\n 4. The earlier method only showed a concern for the rules and the\ncoordinator looking good at his job.\n
C. Consider how our words are going to resonate in another – Colossians 4:5-6<\/p>\nV. This is not to say rebukes are never given or that we should never cause another’s pride to\nbe wounded.\n
A. There is a time and place for such things<\/p>\n B. But too often we wound, not because we think it the best way to handle this\nparticular problem, but because we speak without thinking at all! – Proverbs 15:28\n
C. We make mistakes – James 3:2-5<\/p>\n
1. But we should not justify our mistakes to ourselves – Romans 12:3<\/p>\n D. When most of what comes out of mouths tears down, and almost nothing comes\nout that builds up – something is wrong!\n
1. Pursue edification – Romans 14:19<\/p>\n
2. Please neighbors for his good – Romans 15:2<\/p>\n
3. No corrupt word – Ephesians 4:29<\/p>\n
E. When nothing is offer that improves the person – something is wrong!<\/p>\n
F. Edify and comfort – I Thessalonians 5:11-18<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:11-18 I. The golden rule – Romans 13:9-10 A. Much of our life is involved in relating to other people. 1. We need the cooperation of others in so many ways. 2. And so many people are just plain hard to get along with. B. God’s laws are easily summed up in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[642,794,1598],"class_list":["post-62444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-christianity","tag-criticism","tag-rebukes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":69955,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-god-punish-people-who-lost-their-virginity-through-no-fault-of-their-own\/","url_meta":{"origin":62444,"position":0},"title":"Would God punish people who lost their virginity through no fault of their own.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to know if God will not punish people who have lost their virginity through no fault of their own. Answer: The act of sex is not accidental, so what you are describing would be an act of rape. If an adult seduces a minor into agreeing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45227,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/blaming-the-wrong-thing\/","url_meta":{"origin":62444,"position":1},"title":"Blaming the Wrong Thing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 3:1-8 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Years ago, an incident happened that makes a good illustration. An older woman bought a cup of coffee at a McDonalds, but not having a convenient place to set it, put it between her legs. As she drove off, the coffee sloshed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/and-just-whose-fault-is-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":62444,"position":2},"title":"And Just Whose Fault Is It?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 9:14-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I received a note that I found disgusting \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A woman complained that her husband wasn\u2019t giving her the affection she deserved, so she kicked her husband out and brought in a boyfriend. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That sin doesn\u2019t justify sin apparently doesn\u2019t matter to her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27849,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/conspiracy-theorists\/","url_meta":{"origin":62444,"position":3},"title":"Conspiracy Theorists","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gardner Hall via\u00a0Gospel Power, Vol. 14, No. 36, Sept. 9, 2007. \"Richard Nixon is a communist!\" the man told me with certainty. \"Why do you say that,\" I asked. \"He went to China to talk to them. Must be one of 'em,\" was the response. Another man told me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50470,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-responsible-for-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":62444,"position":4},"title":"Who Is Responsible for Sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ezekiel 18:4-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A number of years ago, I couldn\u2019t find a parking space in our lot because of some school function across the street. I finally found a spot on the side of one street among many other cars and walked to the building.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57620,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-is-my-life-and-ill-do-what-i-want-with-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":62444,"position":5},"title":"It Is My Life and I’ll Do What I Want With It!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dick Millwee Rather a bold, confrontational, in-your-face kind of statement isn't it? Generally, it is made by individuals who try to defend their lifestyle when it is called into question. However, the concept of the statement is a biblical one. Consider with me the statement found in Psalms 119:109,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/defiant.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}