Critical Spirit Quotes

A man who called everyone a damn fool is like a man who damns the weather. He only shows that he is not adapted to his environment, not that the environment is wrong.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

One of the most difficult defilements of the spirit to deal with is the critical spirit. A critical spirit has its root in pride. Because of the 'plank' of pride in our own eye we are not capable of dealing with the 'speck' of need in someone else. We are often like the Pharisee who, completely unconscious of his own need prayed God, I thank you that I am not like other men (Luke 18:11). We are quick to see - and to speak of - the faults of others, but slow to see our own needs. How sweetly we relish the opportunity to speak critically of someone else - even when we are unsure of the facts. We forge that a man who stirs up dissension among brothers by criticizing one to another is one of the six thing which the Lord hates (Proverbs 6:16-19)

~ Jerry Bridges

Critical feedback shared in good faith is inherently a constructive dialogue. A “critique,” a term that is both a noun and a verb, represents the systematical application of critical thought, a disciplined method of analysis, expressing of opinions, and rendering judgments.

~ Kilroy J. Oldster

Nine times out of 10, criticism is a defense mechanism. We criticize in others what we don't like in ourselves.

~ Mark Batterson