It’s so easy to criticize.  Actually it comes quite naturally.  From the sidelines of any situation, the perspective is different, and of course, I know exactly how things should look and unfold.  My grandfather apparently always said: “You don’t argue about what is beautiful and pleasant.”  He wanted to prevent personal preferences from turning conversations into arguments.  This applies to so many things in life, and even more so to our discussions in the church.  Will we always emphasize the boundaries of our theological preferences?  Even in the Church—Jesus’ wonderful body, which is the true Church—as well as in our spiritual walk with the Lord, we can easily fall into the trap of opinion.

Let’s start with a prayer before we continue our conversation.  This is a prayer that has become part of my existence.  The words of Psalm 19:14 remain a challenge.  Let’s read it in three versions of the Bible—isn’t it a privilege to have the words of different translations so readily available?

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.  (NKJV)

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O LORD, my refuge and my redeemer!  (Good News)

These are the words in my mouth;
    these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
    on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
    God, Priest-of-My-Altar. (The Message)

What I say and what I think!  These words humble me.  Even if I manage not to express a sharp thought, I’ve certainly thought it and let it multiply in my mind!

Now, I must add that not every thought in my head is sinful or leaves me condemned before God.  I know well how anger over injustice—personal and public—can stir me.  My thoughts multiply like a Fibonacci spiral—unstoppable and swift. It happens easily.

This is not the problem.  We think many things.  The issue arises when certain thoughts take root in our minds and are given a place in our thought processes.  Thoughts are like octopuses with suckers.  Many of them pass by and can be easily ignored, but others latch onto the rocks of our minds and find a home.  If they are good thoughts that build us up and inspire us to goodness and not evil, we hold on to them and nurture them with all that is beautiful and good.  We fill our minds with the Word of God for this very reason.  This is what makes us strong and effective Christians.

This is why the Psalmist can say: When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your comfort delights my soul.  (Psalms 94:19).

When I was upset and beside myself,
    you calmed me down and cheered me up. (The Message)

The problem is the toxic anger and fear that so easily fill our minds—unforgiveness, anger over people and personal situations, not to mention the public domain, which is deeply troubling.

We then give ourselves permission to criticize and express our frustration.  Most psychologists would encourage anyone to do this, to “get it off their chest.”  This is fine if it can all be resolved in one go or over a few meetings.  But what about the deep pain that keeps resurfacing?  We know these thoughts and feelings well.  Such a painful thought makes your stomach churn and your heart race—bad for the spirit, bad for your health. Politics—well, we’ll leave that there—an endless source of frustrating, climb-the-walls scenarios.

Many Christians fall into the trap of church criticism.  Jesus began His earthly ministry with the exact same words as John the Baptist: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.”

The Kingdom of God—the invisible organization of believers who seek God with all their hearts and study His Word with the aim of inner transformation—is the Church of Jesus, the New Jerusalem.  It is neither a personal nor a public domain.  It is God’s domain, and we cannot act on His “stage.”  It is the exclusive right of the Almighty God.

In humanity’s attempts to please God, we have strayed far and become entangled in numerous arguments.  As truth became distorted and twisted, especially in the power-hungry and lustful era of the Medieval Church, the aftermath of the Reformation led to even more splinter groups as truths were rediscovered.  Each group believed that a precious principle in the Bible should be the focal point of a new denomination.

As Christians, we feel justified in criticizing and tearing down other denominations and their focal points.  We’ve already talked about unity.  Unity is a choice, not a feeling—just as true love is a choice and not a feeling.  Mature Christians are not driven by emotions.  Committed to the Word and its Author, we submit to the authority of the transformative power of the Holy Spirit to make the right choices.

Jesus’ farewell words at the end of the Gospel of Matthew are our guideline regarding authority in the Church.

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20, The Message)

All authority and power have been given to Jesus. It is clear that He gives us the command to make disciples and to teach people.

In the parables of Matthew 13, it’s evident that God sifts the Kingdom and brings in the harvest.  We are mostly just the laborers who plant and tend. It’s only at the end of the growing season that God determines the harvest, separating the weeds from the wheat.

“The servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:27-30)

It was only in the mature plants that the weeds and wheat could truly be distinguished.  Some translations call the weeds “bastard wheat,” because it looks just like the real thing.  In the mature plant, it becomes clear that true wheat produces a full head, carries weight, and bends down, while the weeds bear no fruit and yield no harvest.  Yet they grow alongside the wheat in the same field, receiving the same care for an entire season.

In ancient Palestine, women were hired to carefully hand-pick the true wheat.  The weed, sometimes called tares or darnel, were carefully separated.  Digested, it was poisonous and in large quantities, even fatal. 

When Jesus told the parable of the dragnet, He made it clear that the angels would separate the bad from the good (Matthew 13:47-50).

Let’s once again surrender to God’s perfect judgment and justice, and not claim the unlawful authority to criticize.  We cannot judge or lead the church.  Only God can do that, and He does not shrink back from judging with perfect justice and love.  We make disciples and teach them—God judges.  We rely on the Holy Spirit to inspire people to make the right choices.  It’s not our responsibility to ensure they make the right choices—for that, we can fully trust the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament describes the church established by Jesus Christ as one with structure and form. The apostles were at its head, and as recipients both of ordained authority and revelation, they were charged with guiding the church and keeping its doctrines pure as it expanded throughout the known world. 

Christian churches regard the question of authority — the divine right to preach, act in the name of God and direct the Lord’s church — in different ways. Some, like the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Coptic churches, emphasize a continuous line of authority from the early apostles.