I. Introduction

A. Illustration – Comedian Steve Martin said, "Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you do criticize him, you'll be a mile away and have his shoes" (as cited on PreachingToday.com).

B. This morning we’re talking about a bit of a touchy subject – criticism. While we’re all familiar with the term “constructive criticism” a lot of what is passed off as constructive has a totally different goal in mind. I would guess that 99.9% of criticism is what I would call ungodly criticism. Ungodly criticism consists of those remarks meant to discourage, dishearten, hurt, get even with, undermine, derail, sidetrack, discredit, intimidate, and/or destroy someone or their plans. We could add a lot more words to define ungodly criticism, but instead let’s turn to Nehemiah to find out how he dealt with it. There are a few verses in chapter three we’ll be referring to, but right now I’m going to read chapter four from the New Living.

C. Nehemiah 4 from the New Living – Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samaritan army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they are doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a day if they offer enough sacrifices? Look at those charred stones they are pulling out of the rubbish and using again!” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” 4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, O our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in the presence of the builders.” 6 At last the wall was completed to half its original height around the entire city, for the people had worked very hard. 7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall were being repaired, they became furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and to bring about confusion there. 9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. 10 Then the people began to complain that the workers were becoming tired. There was so much rubble to be moved that we could never get it done by ourselves. 11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.” 12 The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!” 13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the leaders and the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your friends, your families, and your homes!” 15 When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. 16 But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The officers stationed themselves behind the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. The common laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. 18 All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm. 19 Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, “The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!” 21 We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard. 22 I also told everyone living outside the walls to move into Jerusalem. That way they and their servants could go on guard duty at night as well as work during the day. 23 During this time, none of us – not I, nor my relatives, nor my servants, nor the guards who were with me – ever took off our clothes. We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water.

II. Five Forms of Ungodly Criticism

A. Criticism through refusing to cooperate or help. Nehemiah 3:5 – Next were the people of Tekoa, though their leaders refused to help. Tekoa was a town in Judah that gave us the prophet Amos. The people had traveled to Jerusalem to help with the project, but apparently their leaders thought they were too good for the work, or that their own interests were more important. That same kind of attitude is killing the Church in America and our church as well. We’re all guilty of getting the idea in our heads that we’re too good to do something or that what we’re interested in is so much more important. When we do that, we’re actually criticizing those involved in an ungodly way through our refusal to cooperate or to help. We’re discouraging others, disheartening them, killing off the dreams that God entrusted to them to fulfill. And that, my friends, is sin. We cannot afford to sin against God by indulging in ungodly criticism by refusing to cooperate or help.

B. Criticism of people’s character and methods. Nehemiah 4:1-3 - Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samaritan army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they are doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a day if they offer enough sacrifices? Look at those charred stones they are pulling out of the rubbish and using again!” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Perhaps the lowest form of ungodly criticism involves character assassination. When we criticize who people are or their level of competence for the purpose of disheartening or discouraging them, we’re really saying that God had no idea of what He was doing when He gave them that dream. And when we criticize how they’re doing the job, we’re telling them that they are such incredible idiots for even thinking they could do things that way. We’re criticizing God and His ability to create people in such a way that His purposes will best be served. Now I’m not talking about mentoring or helping them for the purpose of building them up when I talk about this kind of criticism. What’s the motive behind the criticism? If you’re criticizing because you think they’re an idiot, your best bet would be to keep your mouth shut – you’ll have to answer to God. All of us have indulged in criticizing people’s characters and methods – all of us are guilty. And I’m telling all of us right now that we’ve got to knock it off or there’ll be a steep price to pay on judgment day.

C. Criticism through physical threats. Nehemiah 4:7-8 - But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall were being repaired, they became furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and to bring about confusion there. Now physical threats can take many forms. One that floors me every time is when people threaten to withhold their giving because they don’t like what we’re doing or what we’re becoming. It’s God’s money so they’re really threatening God. Physical threats do frighten us. We’ve all been physical threatened at some time or another in our lives. I know of pastors who’ve been threatened because of their positions and churches that have been threatened physically or financially. Physical threats are meant to intimidate and discourage us. In fact, intimidation is one of the main goals of all ungodly criticism. And I daresay that all of us have used some form of physical threat at some time or another in our lives. Folks, it’s got to stop. Any kind of criticism through threat against others physically or materially or financially has got to stop.

D. Criticism through complaining about hardships. Nehemiah 4:10 – Then the people of Judah began to complain that the workers were becoming tired. There was so much rubble to be moved that we could never get it done by ourselves. All of us get caught up in the “woe is me” mentality from time to time. In fact, when I come across someone like that I’d like to resort to criticism through physical threats. We all would like to do that, because we hate that part of ourselves. We’ve also got this strange idea through prosperity theology that Christianity is the easy way, the way of comfort and physical blessings and the way away from hardships. Do they even read the same Bible I’m reading? Because my Bible paints a totally different picture. And when we complain about hardships, we’re criticizing others and God for the way they’ve chosen to do things. I know – I’m an expert. But it’s got to stop now. Criticism through complaining about hardships has got to stop.

E.Criticism by proxy or with reinforcements. Nehemiah 4:12 – The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!” This is probably the most childish – no, I did not say child-like – method of criticism. We don’t like what somebody’s doing or what they’re going to do, so we either send somebody else to do our dirty work or we go get reinforcement. In my thirty-plus years as a Christian and over seven years as a pastor or associate pastor, I’ve seen so many examples of this I could puke – and I know you could too. Let’s grow up and knock it off! When somebody asks us to do their dirty work or to join the bandwagon, let’s refuse to do it and tell them to knock it off! God is not pleased when we criticize by proxy or with reinforcements.

F. Illustration – Oswald Chambers wrote, A man who is continually criticized becomes good for nothing, the effect of criticism knocks all the gumption and power out of him (as cited on PreachingToday.com). God hates ungodly criticism, because it derails His plans. So how do we fight it? We do what Nehemiah did.

III. Five Ways of Dealing with Ungodly Criticism

A. Intercessory Prayer. Nehemiah 4:4-5 - Then I prayed, “Hear us, O our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in the presence of the builders.” I know that God is love, but He’s also holy. It’s appropriate to call His consequences down on those who criticize us, because He can use those consequences to turn the critics back to Him. Pray with love, but pray that God will intervene, frustrate the plans of the ungodly critics, and put them out of business.

B. Stay Focused on Doing God’s Plan. Nehemiah 4:6 – At last the wall was completed to half its original height around the entire city, for the people had worked very hard. This verse comes right after they were harshly criticized and Nehemiah interceded. He didn’t wait for another special word from God. He knew what God wanted Him to do, and Nehemiah kept working at it. He kept his focus on doing God’s plan, and we’ve got to do the same thing.

C. Put Feet to Our Prayers. Nehemiah 4:9 – But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves. The people prayed together, but they didn’t just pray. They knew what God wanted them to do, so they acted on their prayers. They didn’t just pray for protection, they did what God told them to that allowed Him to protect them. So many times when we’re fulfilling God’s dreams for us we will get sideswiped or blindsided by ungodly criticism, and we allow it to keep us from moving forward. Nehemiah and the people of Judah put feet to their prayers, and we’ve got to do it too.

D. Remember Who Is in Charge. Nehemiah 4:14-15 – Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the leaders and the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your friends, your families, and your homes!” 15 When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. God is in charge, not the critics. Let me say it again – God is in charge, not the critics. When we are critics, God will fight against us. When we are criticized, God will fight against those critics, adding His supernatural power to our efforts to obey Him in fulfilling His dreams. Remember what Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus – “It’s impossible to fight me!” That’s the gist of what He said. We would do well to remember that. God’s in charge. If we’re fighting against Him by criticizing, we’re in trouble! Nehemiah remembered Who is in charge, and we’ve got to remember Him too.

E.Pull Together as a Team instead of Letting the Critics Pull Us Apart. Nehemiah 4:19-20 – Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, “The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!” The work on the wall was scattered and involved a lot of people doing a lot of different things. Some collected building materials. Some cut wood for the gates or rocks for the walls. Some put the gates together. Some stacked and mortared the rocks for the wall. That’s the way it is in the church – lots of people helping each other do lots of different things to see God’s dreams happen. So much of the time we allow critics to drive us apart. We get on the bandwagon with them in criticizing our coworkers in Christ so that people won’t notice our own shortcomings. Folks, that’s got to stop, and it’s got to stop now! We are a team! The Bible calls us a body that will die if one part stops working. Sports teams will lose consistently if they allow their critics to drive them apart. Logging crews put each other in danger if they refuse to work together and allow their critics to drive them apart. Many, many churches have forced themselves out of business by listening to those ungodly critics and allowing them to drive them apart. It’s got to stop! We’ve got to pull together as a team. If somebody criticizes one of us, we all defend that person. If someone in our body criticizes someone, we confront that person and even remove them from fellowship if they don’t repent. And if you don’t think that’s biblical, read Matthew 18:15-17. That may sound harsh, but it’s a whole lot better than allowing critics to tear the whole house down. Satan wants to tear us apart, rip us to shreds, and close us down. The way we stop that is to stop criticizing each other, pull together and work as a team. That’s what Nehemiah and the people of Judah did, and the wall was rebuilt. The shame of Jerusalem was gone. When we pull together as a team instead of allowing critics to pull us apart, our shame will be gone too.

F. I want to share three illustrations that will help drive home what God is trying to teach us through Nehemiah. Jim Cymbala, in his book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, wrote, About 20 years ago, I said something impromptu to the new members standing in a row across the front of the church. As we received them, the Holy Spirit prompted me to add, "And now, I charge you that if you ever hear another member speak an unkind word of criticism or slander against anyone—myself, an usher, a choir member, or anyone else—that you stop that person in mid-sentence and say, 'Excuse me—who hurt you? Who ignored you? Who slighted you? Was it Pastor Cymbala? Let's go to his office right now. He'll apologize to you, and then we'll pray together so God can restore peace to this body. But we won't let you talk critically about people who aren't present to defend themselves.' "I'm serious about this. I want you to help resolve this kind of thing immediately. And know this: If you are ever the one doing the loose talking, we'll confront you." To this day, every time we receive new members, I say much the same thing. That's because I know what most easily destroys churches. It's not crack cocaine, government oppression, or even lack of funds. Rather it's gossip and slander that grieves the Holy Spirit (as cited on PreachingToday.com). Criticism grieves God and destroys churches.

G. Illustration - In his book Sabbath Time, Tilden Edwards tells about a family with teenage children who decided, as part of their Sabbath commitments, that they would not criticize each other on Sundays. As the months went on and they kept this commitment, they realized more and more of their children's friends were coming over on Sundays just to hang around. No one in the family had talked about this commitment, but somehow other teenagers knew this home was a good place to be (as cited on PreachingToday.com). How do you think refusing to criticize will change the atmosphere and culture of our church?

H. Illustration - In his autobiography My American Journey, General Colin Powell writes: On the speech circuit, I tell a story that goes to the heart of America's longing. ABC correspondent Sam Donaldson was interviewing a young African-American soldier in a tank platoon on the eve of the battle in Desert Storm. Donaldson asked, "How do you think the battle will go? Are you afraid?" "We'll do okay. We're well trained. And I'm not afraid," the GI answered, gesturing toward his buddies around him. "I'm not afraid because I'm with my family." The other soldiers shouted, "Tell him again. He didn't hear you." The soldier repeated, "This is my family, and we'll take care of each other." That story never fails to touch me or the audience. It is a metaphor for what we have to do as a nation. We have to start thinking of America as a family. We have to stop screeching at each other, stop hurting each other, and instead start caring for, sacrificing for, and sharing with each other. We have to stop constantly criticizing, which is the way of the malcontent, and instead get back to the can-do attitude that made America. We have to keep trying, and risk failing, in order to solve this country's problems. We cannot move forward if cynics and critics swoop down and pick apart anything that goes wrong to a point where we lose sight of what is right, decent, and uniquely good about America (as cited on PreachingToday.com). The same thing is true in the church. We can’t be a church of critics and see God’s dreams be fulfilled. Are we willing to give up our self-proclaimed right to criticize?

IV. Conclusion

A. Please bow your heads and close your eyes out of respect for each other’s privacy. How are you doing in this area of criticism? Are you a critic? Let’s spend a few quiet moments listening to what the Spirit is saying to us.

B. Again, what’s God been speaking to your heart? If God’s convicting you that you are guilty of ungodly criticism and derailing His dreams in others’ lives, get it right with Him right now. Spend a few moments praying, asking His forgiveness, and surrendering yourself to becoming a team player rather than a critic. Let’s pray.