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The Sin of Criticism

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 3, 1916

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 38.

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The Sin of Criticism

By E. HILLIARD

E. HILLIARD
CRITICISM is a terrible sin. It exists in every carnal heart. The root cause is jealousy. It is a channel through which Satan works to force his subjects over the line, beyond hope of redemption. Jealousy was found in the hearts of the twelve apostles, even after they had been taught the principles of meekness and humility, by precept and example, for three and one-half years, by the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. It was the strong desire for supremacy that caused the strife among the twelve. “There was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.” Luke 22:24. They were not so much concerned as to the reality of their greatness as they were of being accounted the greatest. Each criticized the others in order to make manifest that their failings disqualified them for the highest position. Each seemed to think that his keenness to detect error was a recommendation for the supremacy. At the feet-washing ordinance they began to see the sinfulness of their unholy ambition.
Criticism is a sin hard to conquer, and is far more dangerous than many are aware of. A few lines from “The Desire of Ages,” page 323, will show to what the indulgence in this sin may lead, They read:—
“It is dangerous to utter a word of holy doubt, dangerous to question and criticize divine light. The habit of careless and irreverent criticism reacts upon the character, in fostering irreverence and unbelief. Many a man indulging this habit has gone on unconscious of danger, until he was ready to criticize and reject the work of the Holy Spirit.”
God, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, strives with the poor, sin-blinded criticizer for a long time. But if he continues to reject the wooings of the Spirit, he is rapidly nearing a hopeless condition. Again we read, “The most common manifestation of the sin against the Holy Spirit, is in persistently slighting Heaven’s invitation to repent. Every step in the rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of salvation, and toward the sin against the Holy Ghost.” — Id., p. 324.
St. Paul, Minn.