BURY YOUR TALENT Patrick Allen
A guy came to his pastor and said, "Reverend, I only have one talent." The preacher asked, "What's your talent? The man said, "I have the gift of criticism." The pastor was wise and replied, "The Bible says that the guy who had only one talent went out and buried it. Maybe that's what you ought to do with yours."

A FAST FROM CRITICISM In A Closer Walk, Catherine Marshall writes:
One morning last week He gave me an assignment: for one day I was to go on a 'fast' from criticism. I was not to criticize anybody about anything. For the first half of the day, I simply felt a void, almost as if I had been wiped out as a person. This was especially true at lunch...I listened to the others and kept silent... In our talkative family no one seemed to notice. Bemused, I noticed that my comments were not missed. The federal government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along fine without my penetrating observations. But still I didn't see what this fast on criticism was accomplishing – until mid-afternoon. That afternoon, a specific, positive vision for this life was dropped into my mind with God's unmistakable hallmark on it -- joy! Ideas began to flow in a way I had not experienced in
years. Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity.

THE BEST PLAYER James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited
"Just remember: Every baseball team could use a man who plays every position perfectly, never strikes out and never makes an error. The trouble is, there's no way to make him lay down his hot dog and come down out of the stands."

ANSWER THE CRITICS WHEN CANAL IS FINISHED Home Health Letter 12/95

Colonel George Washington Goethals, the man responsible for the completion of the Panama Canal, had big problems with the climate and the geography. But his biggest challenge was the growing criticism back home from those who predicted he’d never finish the project.

Finally, a colleague asked him, "Aren’t you going to answer these critics?"

"In time," answered Goethals.

"When?" his friend asked.

"When the canal is finished."

QUOTE: Never answer an anonymous letter - Yogi Berra

THE LETTER LINCOLN NEVER SENT (portions taken from "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

As Abraham Lincoln lay dying of an assassin's bullet, Secretary of War Stanton was quoted as saying "There lies the most perfect ruler of men that the world has ever seen."

What made Lincoln such a great leader? He succeeded in curing himself of the critical spirit we've talked about this morning.

Lincoln had suffered through inept and bungling generals for the first three years of the war. McClellen, Pope, Burnside, and Hooker... but in the summer of 1863, it seemed that the Union under General Meade would finally be able to crush the confederacy. Lee had stumbled badly at Gettysburg and needed to flee back across the Potomac to regroup and survive. But the Potomac was swollen and crossing was impossible. Sensing victory at hand, Lincoln sent both a telegraph and a special messenger to Meade specifically instructing him not to hold a war council but to attack immediately. What did Meade do? He held his war council and delayed. Because of that delay Lee had the time to move his troops across the river to safety.

Lincoln was crushed. In anger he composed this letter:

"My dear General,

I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. He was within our easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would, in connection with our other late successes, have ended the war. As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely. If you could not safely attack Lee last Monday, how can you possibly do so south of the river, when you can take with you very few - no more than 2/3's of the force you then had in hand? It would be unreasonable to expect and I do no expect that you can now effect much. Your golden opportunity is gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it."

What do you suppose Meade did when he read that letter?... He never did. Lincoln never sent the letter. It was found later amongst Lincoln's papers following his death. Why didn't he send it? Because he had come to grips with a critical spirit and determined to defeat it. .

I stood on the streets of a busy town.

Watching men tearing a building down:

With a "Ho, heave, ho," and a lusty yell,

they swung a beam and a sidewall fell.

I asked the foreman of the crew,

"Are those men as skilled as you would hire if you wanted to build?"

"Ah, no," he said, "no indeed, just common labor is all I need.

I can tear down as much in a day or two

As would take skilled men a year to do."

And I thought as I went my way,

Just which of these two roles am I trying to play?

Have I walked life's road with care.

Measuring each deed with rule and square?

Or am I one of those who roam the town,

Content with the labor of tearing down?

THE CYNIC Oscar Wilde

The cynic is one who never sees the good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one. The cynic is one who knows the price of everything and value of nothing.

Fault finding is not difficult. Isaac Murray illustrates this in his story on how a dog hitched to a lawn mower stopped pulling to bark at a passerby. The boy who was guiding the mower said "Don't mind the dog, he is just barking for an excuse to rest. It is easier bark than to pull the mower."

It is easier to be critical than correct. It's easier to bark than to work, easier to burn a house than to build one, easier to hinder than to help, easier to destroy a reputation than to construct character. Fault finding is as dangerous as it is easy. Anyone, like the Pharisees, can grumble, criticize or censure. But it takes a great individual to go on working faithfully and lovingly and rise superior to it all, as Jesus did.

MOST DISLIKED PEOPLE St. John's Eagle

A psychologist asked a group of college students to jot down, in thirty seconds, the initials of the people they disliked. Some of the students taking the course could think of only one person. Others listed as many as fourteen. But one interesting fact that came out of the research was this: Those who disliked the largest number of people were themselves the most widely disliked.

QUOTE: "We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst." C.S. Lewis in "The Abolition of Man"

ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON CRITICS R.Digest 5/91 p. 32

If I were to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, then angels swearing I was right would make no difference.

CRITICS VS. CREATORS M. W. Larmour from Rotary "Scandal Sheet"

The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball. They fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in the arena are the doers. They make many mistakes because they attempt things.

Ford forgot to put a reverse gear on the 1st automobile, and then went on to revolutionize the automobile industry with his Model T.

The man who makes no mistakes lacks boldness and the spirit of adventure. He never tries anything new. He is a brake on the wheels of progress.

THE TATE FAMILY by Gary Johnson.

I just heard some bad news! A preacher friend of mine told me that the TATE family joined their congregation! This spells trouble in that old man Dic Tate wants to run everything while Uncle Ro Tate tries to change everything. Their sister, Agi Tate, stirs up plenty of trouble with help from her husband, Iri Tate. Whenever new projects are suggested, Hesi Tate and his wife Vege Tate, want to wait until next year to start them. Then there is old Aunt Imi Tate who tries to make the church just like all other churches. Deves Tate provides the church with a voice of doom, while old Poten Tate wants to be in charge. The good news it that brother Facili Tate is quite helpful in church matters and a delightful member of the family is cousin Felici Tate. Cousins Cogi Tate and Medi Tate always think things over and lend a helping hand. News was just heard that one of the black sheep of the Tate family, Ampu Tate, just cut himself off from the others because he was giving them a bad name.

A true story? Not hardly, particularly at Indian Creek! How I praise God that there is such a spirit of Unity among us. Psalm 133:1 states, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" I am sure we would hear a rousing "amen" in response to that scripture.

THROWING ROCKS Pulpit Helps, July 1992, P. 12

In a small town in south Georgia there lived a man who was the town drunk. One morning the drunk approached a leading citizen of the town named Sam Tate. "Sam," he said, "the high school boys threw rocks at me last night." Tate replied, "Well, Jim, maybe they were just trying to make a better man out of you." In response the old drunk uttered a great truth when he said "Sam, I never heard of Jesus throwing rocks at anybody to make them better."

GIRL TOO SHORT Gothard Seminar (Basic)

Gothard tells the story of a young daughter of a missionary couple whose moroseness and troubled mind were causing them to give up the mission field. In the process of a subsequent conversation Gothard had with her he asked her a series of questions to discover if there were any underlying moral problems (she wanted to be a missionary one day, there were moral battlegrounds but nothing overwhelming, she loved her parents and held no bitter thoughts) but found that search fruitless. Then he asked her if she had a boy she liked. "Oh yes," she replied, and then she named one of the more upstanding boys in the camp where they were.

Suddenly, it struck Mr. Gothard to ask her "If you had the power to change anything about yourself, would you do it?" "You bet," she answered. "I'd change my height" (the boy she liked was shorter than she was). Bill then led her through a teaching of the 8 truths that would lead her to accept who she was:

1. The Balance of Truth:

* There is no good thing in the flesh (Romans 7:18)

BUT she was fearfully & wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14)

* She was desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9)

BUT She was made in the image of God.

2. God prescribed us before we were born (Ps. 139:16 & Is. 45:9-10)

Some accept this but reason: If this is what God has done with

me, forget any allegiance I might have toward him).

3. God isn't finished with us yet (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 1:6)

At this point Gothard related how an ugly girl had applied these

principles to her life and had actually succeeded in

changing the character of her countenance - attractive.

Another story he told was of an ugly woman who showed him a

picture of when she was younger (she had been beautiful);

her choice of life had destroyed the previous beauty.

4. The cause of inferiority feelings is comparing unchangeable features

5. Outward beauty is not equal to inward happiness (Is. 5:2)

6. God's inward ideal - the character of Jesus (Mt. 5:3-12)

7. If necessary God sacrifices outward beauty to develop inward

character (II Cor. 4:16)

8. Differences in our features high light and frame God's message in

us (II Cor. 12:9).

Gothard then led her in a prayer of acceptance that changed her life:

1. God I want to thank you for my unchangeable traits

2. I especially want to thank you for ... (the ones I've not been

thankful for)

3. God put me back up on your easel and develop in me the inward

qualities you desire.

I'M TOO UGLY Basic Seminar, Bill Gothard

Man approached Gothard about helping his son that he'd just admitted to a mental hospital. Upon visiting, he learned that the boy was expected to be there for several weeks just for observation to discover his problem, at a cost of several thousand dollars to the family. The boy was withdrawn and depressed. In their conversation, Gothard asked the question: "If you had the power to change anything about your appearance, would you do so?" "You bet I would," the boy replied, "I'd change my face." "Your face," Bill asked in surprise, what's wrong with your face?"

"It's ugly."

"Who told you were ugly?" The boy replied "When I was in the school hallway, a couple of younger boys came up to me and said "you're ugly." Gothard then led him through the teaching on accepting that which he couldn't change and helped him pray the prayer of acceptance. Within a week, the boy was changed and on his way home.

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

BECOME AN UMPIRE R.Digest 12/77 p.224

Tommy Bell, retired after 15 years as a national Football League Referee, tells a story about Fred Arbanas, former all pro end for the Kansas City Chiefs, who had a glass eye. "There was a game where he was hit and the glass eye was knocked out," Bell recalls. "I picked it up and handed it back to him when he was revived. Arbanas just swirled the glass eye around in the water bucket and slapped it right back in his head.

"I said, 'Golly, Arbanas, you got a lot of guts. What would you do if your other eye were injured?' He didn't even crack a smile as he said, 'Mr. Bell, I'd become a referee, just like you.'"

CRITICISM BY BELL R.Digest 3/78 p. 60

A harried hospital pharmacist posted this sign by the service bell: "Ring once for service, ring twice for poor service, ring 3 times for no service at all."

FULTON'S FOLLY R.Digest 2/78 p. 99

When someone is convinced that things can't be done, he will cling to that conviction in the face of the most obvious contradiction. At the time that Robert Fulton gave the 1st public demonstration of his steamboat, one of those "can't be done" fellows stood in the crowd along the shore repeating, "He can't start her."

Suddenly there was a belch of steam and the boat began to move. Startled, the man stared for a moment and then began to chant, "He can't stop her."

DON'T POUND YOUR WATCHES R.Digest 10/93 p. 14

One professor instructed his class: "Now I know my lectures can often be dry and boring, so I don't mind if you look at your watches during class. I do, however, object to your pounding them on the desk to make sure they are still running."

CHURCHILL WOULD DRINK POISON Gary Johnson Spring '94 Revival

Winston Churchill, a Lord in Britain attended a festive gathering where he became embroiled in an argument with Lady (Smythe - perhaps not her real name). Their words were so heated that all other activity in the party ceased and those gathered heard this exchange:

Lady Smythe: "Lord Churchill, if you were my husband, I would put poison in your tea."

Lord Churchill: "If you were my wife, I would gladly drink it."

Winston Churchill knew that public favor was no proof of real success. Once, after he gave a speech for which 10,000 people came out, a friend asked, "Winston, aren't you impressed that 10,000 people came to hear you speak?"

Churchill replied, "Not really. 100,000 would come to see me hang."

An article from a church bulletin taught such a good lesson about criticizing that I thought I should pass it along. It begins with this poem:

A little seed lay in the ground

And soon began to sprout;

Now, which of all the flowers around,

Shall I, it mused, come out?

The seed then could be heard saying, "I don't care to be a rose. It has thorns. I have no desire to be a lily. It's too colorless. And I certainly wouldn't want to be a violet. It's too small, and furthermore, it grows too close to the ground." The story concluded with this verse about that faultfinding seed:

And so it criticized each flower,

That supercilious seed,

Until it woke one summer hour

And found itself a weed!

In Romans 12:3, Paul indicated that we are not to think of ourselves too highly. Rather, we are "to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." A good cure for a critical spirit is an honest look at ourselves -- not at others.

-- Richard W DeHaan

EXCUSE THE HANDWRITING R.Digest 1/95 p.68

A woman writing at a post office desk was approached by a man whose hand was in a cast. "Pardon me," said the man, "but could you please address this post car for me?" The woman gladly did so, agreeing also to write a short message and sign for him.

"There," said the woman smiling. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes," the man replied. "At the end could you put 'P.S. - Please excuse the handwriting?'"