Proverbs 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.  Have you ever met someone who just seems grumpy and criticizes everything coming and going?  A person like that is very unpleasant to be around.  They are always complaining and griping about something or even worse, someone.  In Psalm 1:1 the Bible teaches we are blessed if we refuse to sit in the seat of the scornful.   Those who are always criticizing deem themselves better than others.  They think by tearing others down they make themselves somehow appear on a higher plane.  In short, they think more highly of themselves than they ought to think.  A child of God who desires to be filled with the joy of the Lord must learn to avoid a critical spirit.  There is an antidote for a critical spirit.
The cure is a thankful spirit!  Instead of being critical,  why not stop and be thankful?  Life is way too short to go about on a daily basis criticizing others. Our text verse tells us those words are like the piercings of a sword.  Those words do not encourage others, they discourage them.  God help us to use our words to build others up, not to tear them down.  After all, whatever may be wrong in another’s life, it is truly the grace of God that we are not guilty of the same thing, or even worse!  Look for opportunities to help the situation instead of being critical.   The tongue of the wise is health.  May we learn to be swift to hear and slow to speak.
1 Thessalonians 1:2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;  It is absolutely impossible to give thanks and pray for others, while harboring a critical spirit.  Lord, deliver us this day from this critical spirit.  Help us to spend more time judging ourselves,  and less time judging others.  In Jesus name. Amen. Pastor