This quote came through one of the emails I receive in the morning, and it made me think about Hebrews 12.
Radical leftist Saul Alinksy said the following:
"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage."
We studied Hebrews 12 this Sunday, and we all discussed how much GOD's discipline displays HIS unconditional love for us in that HE disciplines us for our spiritual growth and not as seems best for HIM as do earthly fathers (paraphrasing verses 5-11). We further discussed how most of us don't enjoy any discipline or admonishment or even "constructive criticism" when it's administered to us. How painfully true that can be for so many of us.
Then, I read this quote. WOW!! How often do we use ridicule and call it "criticism"?
According to Webster, criticize means::
: to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly
: to find fault with
: point out the faults of
It looks to me that criticism and ridicule are pretty close together in definition, but they are worlds apart in application. Criticism is something that should be used in light of Hebrews 12 - to better the person in some sense (ie, spiritually). In my opinion, it really should be accompanied by specific examples, possibly gentle suggestions (you need to know the person on this one), lots of love and prayer, and absolutely NO name calling. Ridicule, on the other hand, doesn't seem to require any of the above and especially loves name calling.
I heard a speaker say once that we ridicule others in order to bring them down and elevate ourselves. I have always thought that was a perfect definition of ridicule. It's right there with Webster's definition of "to make fun of others".
I so appreciated thinking about how GOD loves me enough to correct me for my spiritual growth. I would love to tell everyone that I did that as a mother, but I have to be honest and admit that I often "disciplined" my children so that I would look good in the eyes of others. GOD doesn't need us to make HIM look good (and I'm grateful for that!!). The beautiful thing is that HE does discipline us in a constructive criticism sort of way. He does so with love, examples (we can see so many in HIS WORD), suggestions (again, I refer to HIS WORD), and I don't think HE's ever called me a name. Even better, HE is willing to do this over and over and over until I get it right. I don't think those that ridicule us are really willing to invest that much time in us.
I am encouraged to choose my thoughts and words carefully as I speak with others that I feel may be in the wrong. What are my intentions? Am I focused on what I want or improving the other person in some way. Am I choosing words that make fun of the person? Or are my words ones that will edify in the long run. Have I spent time with GOD before spending time with this person? Is there love being expressed? Am I ridiculing ...........or truly criticizing?
I think that Rebecca posted a beautiful poem on words, and I think it applies especially to these areas.
For once, thank you, Mr. Alinsky, for saying something I could agree with.
