A Criticism of Critics by Mrs. B. F. Foote

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 19, 1916

A Criticism of Critics

By Mrs. B. F. Foote

MRS. B. F. FOOTE

You are all familiar with the old saying that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” But for a little while I wish to throw some stones against criticism, and to throw as hard and as straight and as often as possible. Perhaps I should add that most of the stones that I shall throw are those which have already struck me with more or less effect. In fact, the very first one struck me so forcibly that as soon as I get through writing this article, I am going to turn over a new leaf and try hard never to criticize anybody again. Here it goes, and I hope it will make a deep impression: “To criticize others requires less brains than almost any other effort.”

And here is another that sank in deep when it first struck me: “What a world of gossip would be prevented if it were only remembered that a person who tells you of the faults of others intends to tell others of your faults!”

Turn that around a little now, and apply it in this way: Next time you find yourself criticizing some one, just look into the eyes of the one to whom you are speaking, and realize that he is thinking after this fashion: “Well, now, I wonder what he is going to say about me when he gets around behind my back!”

Here is another “stone:”— “There is so much good in the worst of us, And so much bad in the best of us, That it ill behooves any of us To talk about the rest of us.”

Another that is worth remembering: “Unspoken criticisms are like your own sword in your own sheath; but after you have said them, they are like your sword in the hands of another.” I well remember one person who used to come to me and talk about others, and when I would indicate in any way that I agreed with her, she would go and tell the person talked about that I had said the things she had told me. It was quite a lesson to me when I found it out.

When tempted to find fault with others, it is well to remember that by so doing we reveal our own character. The Bible makes this very plain in the following words: “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” When we talk about the faults of others, we become partakers of their faults; for if we know that they are making mistakes, and do not try to correct them, we are as guilty as they.

Talmage says: “There is only one person worse than a whisperer; and that is the man or woman who listens without protest. . . . An ancient writer declares that a slanderer and a man who receives the slander ought both to be hanged,—the one by the tongue and the other by the ear.”

Some time ago I saw a description of the “cancellation” game. This is the way it is played: Whenever a person says something derogatory of another in your presence, try to say something good about the person criticized, thus canceling the impression that might otherwise be left by the unfavorable remark. To illustrate: There is a story of an old woman who was in a company where the minister was being criticized very severely. When she was asked her opinion, she replied that the poorest preacher she ever heard could preach so much better than she could live that she never felt like criticizing any of them.

There is one kind of criticism that is perfectly proper, and the more of such criticizing we do, the better. That is self-criticism. The following is to the point:— “Just stand aside, and watch yourself go by. Think of yourself as ‘he’ instead of ‘I.’ Then pick flaws; find fault; forget the man is you, And strive to make your estimate ring true. The faults of others then will dwarf and shrink, Love’s chain grow stronger by one mighty link, When you, with ‘he’ as substitute for ‘I,’ Have stood aside and watched yourself go by.”

We should excuse much in others, but nothing in self. There is a story of two Chinese families,—one rich, the other poor. The poor family was very happy, and the rich family was just the opposite, always having trouble. The rich man went to the poor man’s home one day, and asked how it was that they were always so happy. “Oh,” said the poor man, “we all try to take the blame for everything that goes wrong. For instance, if one of the children is carrying a dish to the table, and stumbles over the footstool that another has left in the middle of the floor, breaking the dish and spilling its contents, the one will apologize for having left the obstruction in the way, while the other will say, ‘Well, it was my fault; I ought to have been watching where I was going.’” Then the rich man said, “Well, well, it is just the other way in my home. Each one blames some one else for everything that goes wrong.”

Criticism is condemned in no uncertain terms in “Christ’s Object Lessons.” There the writer says: “Satan has many helpers. Many who profess to be Christians are aiding the tempter to catch away the seeds of truth from other hearts. Many who listen to the preaching of the word of God make it the subject of criticism at home. They sit in judgment on the sermon as they would on the words of a lecturer or a political speaker. The message that should be regarded as the word of the Lord to them is dwelt upon with trifling or sarcastic comment. The minister’s character, motives, and actions, and the conduct of fellow members of the church, are freely discussed. Severe judgment is pronounced, gossip or slander repeated, and this in the hearing of the unconverted.”

The Western Recorder gives a very pointed sentence on this thought, as follows: “If we would pray for the preacher as much as we criticize and cauterize him, there is little doubt that his ministry would be far more effective.”

Now, here is the last stone I intend to throw; and I hope it will break up into enough pieces to strike every one who has ever said anything about any one that he ought not to have said, and strike so hard that if the temptation ever comes again, the memory of it will help each one to resist. It is really a precious stone, a gem:— “If you your lips Would keep from slips, Five things observe with care: To whom you speak, Of whom you speak, And how, and when, and where.”