Today I want to continue in our lessons on The Spirit of Poverty. Last week we looked at greed as a cause of spiritual poverty, and today we will be looking at the areas of criticism and judgmentalism. When we criticize and judge others, we are bringing that same judgment upon ourselves, which will hold us in a place of spiritual poverty. Here’s what Bill shared:

Don’t criticize; walk in love and forgiveness toward everyone.

Luke 6:36-38 (from The Message version):

“I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”

When we are generous both with our money and with our attitude of grace towards others, we will break the hold of spiritual poverty on our lives.

My challenge for you today is to ask yourself who do you need to be gracious to? Who do you need to be generous towards? Experiment – get past your own pride and fear, act graciously and generously, and see what God does in return.