Sitting By or Sitting Under?

Criticism- it causes a wide variety of emotions to surface. I have been at the brunt of it, I've also been mixed up in it many times. How can I get a handle on this destructive habit?

In Luke 5:17, the Pharisees and the doctors were sitting by listening to Jesus teaching. How many times have I sat by the teaching of the Word, instead of sat under?

Matthew Henry wrote, " How many are there in the midst of our assemblies, where the Gospel is preached, that do not sit under the Word, but sit by! It is to them as a tale that is told them, not as a message that is sent them; they are willing that we should preach before them, but not that we should preach to them."

Criticism is tricky, deceitful and self-seeking. The Pharisees were sitting by, watching for a chance to criticize Jesus for something. They were totally missing the point of His message. They didn't hear Him at all.

How many times have I totally missed what someone was saying because I was drawing my critical conclusions in my mind?

This morning, my devotional by Beth Moore, Jesus, 90 Days With the One and Only, was so powerful! She said that the most merciful people are the ones who have been sitting under the faucet of God's mercy instead of sitting by with a critical eye.

Sometimes we are convicted best just after we've been criticized. In fact, being on the end of it where people readily find fault with you, opens your eyes to your own damaging judgements of others.

Francis Frangipane wrote," To inoculate me from the praise of man, He baptized me in the criticism of man, until I died to the control of man."

We go to town, take one look at someone, and figure they're on food stamps, because they certainly look too lazy to work.

We go to church, hear someone share a testimony, but discount it because of a glaring fault in their life.

We see the young teen, tattooed and pierced, and move to another aisle at the grocery store.

We hear about some one's call from God, but completely reject it, because they aren't in the right church denomination.

We see someone make changes in dress, and hear them talk about what God is doing in their life, and we figure it can't be the same God we serve.

She shares in Sunday School class, but she has so many issues, that we just feel sorry for her instead of challenged by what God is doing in her life.

And on and on it goes.

So help, me, God. I pray that I would care enough about people to give them the gift of understanding, mercy, and love. I pray that Jesus would be so real in my life that I could be Jesus with 'skin' on to those I come in contact with. I pray that I would hear first, love next, and always care.

Blameless people are rarely those who cast blame. (Beth Moore)

So what will I do? Will I sit by Jesus teaching or will I sit under His teaching, and allow it to change me?