Resist the critical spirit, the judgmental bent, especially among your loved ones.
“Bawal judgmental!” as one Filipino talk show host playfully put it.
It’s for your best personal mental health.
No one wants to live with a critical, judgmental person. It sucks the life out of you, anytime.
“It’s hard to live with my husband. He oppresses me with his constant blaming and hyper-criticalness in everything I say and do. I don’t know how much longer I can endure this,” relates Linda during our Viber session.
If you have this harmful habit with your spouse or kids, ask yourself if it’s helping them. Is there anything good for your relationships that comes out of your particular bent?
Remember though that there is a difference between having high expectations and the critical spirit.
I like what Dr. John Piper once said as a way to describe how we can resist the critical spirit,
“There’s plenty about me that should disincline me to be quick in criticizing and judging another person.”
Piper teaches that we should look at ourselves first, especially if we’ve “logs or specks” in our own eyes before we notice them in others.
Chances are many that the very “logs or specks” we have can be much worse than the other person’s.
Piper likewise mentioned about another mental health resolution in relation to avoiding hyper-critical ness. It’s something he quoted from a Literature professor.
It goes,
“I shall open my eyes and ears, everyday. I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are.”
Do you want to overflow with enjoyment and joy?
Fill your heart with thankfulness. Fill your heart with praise.
A heart filled with thankfulness and praise pushes out the critical, judgmental spirit.
myonlinepsychotherapyph.com
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