[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fspears-and-spurs":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fspears-and-spurs-surround":69},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":17,"columnName":52,"date":53,"description":23,"extension":54,"image":55,"meta":56,"minRead":57,"navigation":58,"path":59,"postType":60,"publication":61,"publicationUrl":55,"seo":62,"stem":63,"topics":64,"__hash__":68},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fspears-and-spurs.md","Spears and Spurs",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16],"1 Samuel","Nehemiah","Philippians","Ephesians","Hebrews","Galatians","Acts","Ecclesiastes",{"type":18,"value":19,"toc":48},"minimark",[20,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45],[21,22,23],"p",{},"What's the difference between a good critic and a bad critic? Here's a simple analogy. Bad critics are like spears; good critics are like spurs.",[21,25,26],{},"In ancient wars, a soldier used his spear to cut down his enemy. In a horse race, a rider uses his spurs to coax and prod his mount forward. Spurs cause discomfort but not injury; spears wound and destroy.",[21,28,29],{},"Critical people come in both forms. Spears make you bleed; spurs make you bold. Spears discourage; spurs encourage. Spears stab you in the back; spurs hold a goal before your eyes. Spears deflate and irritate; spurs activate and motivate.",[21,31,32],{},"Lots of bad critics appear in the Bible. Moses endured the grumblings of thousands. Even his sister Miriam and his brother Aaron questioned his leadership (Numbers 11 and 12). David not only faced Goliath's irritating taunts, but also the sarcastic remarks of his brother Eliab who questioned his motives and bristled, \"Why have you come down here? . . . I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle\" (1 Samuel 17:28). Angry King Saul threw more than harsh words at David. Three times, he literally threw a spear at the young champion (1 Samuel 18 and 19). Nehemiah's wall-building project was difficult enough; it didn't help when critics like Sanballat and Tobiah mocked the effort and said, \"If even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!\" (Nehemiah 4:1-3).",[21,34,35],{},"Jesus faced relentless criticism from the Pharisees who challenged his teaching, questioned his Sabbath-keeping, attributed his miracles to the power of Satan, and mocked him as he died on the cross. When the apostle Paul suffered in prison for preaching the gospel, some of his Christian brothers were heartened by his example and \"encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.\" Others, however, used Paul's problems as an opportunity to \"spear\" him, supposing that they could stir up trouble for him while he was in chains (Philippians 1:14-17). Bad critics abound. Our adversary the devil is a slanderer and accuser who fires flaming arrows we can only extinguish by wielding the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16).",[21,37,38],{},"But there are good critics too, who \"spur one another on toward love and good deeds\" (Hebrews 10:24). Nathan confronted David about the king's scandalous affair (2 Samuel 12). Paul challenged Peter to stop treating Gentile Christians like second-class citizens in the kingdom of God (Galatians 2:11-14). Priscilla and Aquila invited Apollos to their home and cleared up some deficiencies in his doctrine (Acts 18:24-26). Good critics hold us accountable, challenge us to be more consistent, and give us insight we otherwise would miss. \"The words of the wise,\" Scripture says, \"are like goads\"—sharpened sticks that prod an animal to move (Ecclesiastes 12:11). Good critics spur us on to do what's right.",[21,40,41],{},"What kind of critic are you? Are you willing to do the hard work love requires? The grumblers are many, but the laborers are few.",[21,43,44],{},"A lonely person says, \"I'm going to hide lest you get close to me.\" A lazy person says, \"You're not worth the trouble to me.\" A fearful person says, \"I'm going to hurt you before you hurt me.\" A bitter person says, \"I'm going to get even for what you did to me.\" But a godly person says, \"I'm going to love you because God first loved me.\"",[21,46,47],{},"Are you a spear or a spur?",{"title":49,"searchDepth":50,"depth":50,"links":51},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","1999-05-30","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fspears-and-spurs","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":23},"articles\u002Fspears-and-spurs",[65,66,67],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Spiritual Formation","sX2vPD71YrhRbpRb5Diox2arw4V3ua1LiwJimgb-uF8",[70,75],{"title":71,"path":72,"stem":73,"description":74,"children":-1},"Speaking the Truth in Love","\u002Farticles\u002Fspeaking-the-truth-in-love","articles\u002Fspeaking-the-truth-in-love","The Lord is always honest with us, for “God . . . does not lie” (Titus 1:2). And he always desires what is best for us, for “God is love” (1 John 4:16).",{"title":76,"path":77,"stem":78,"description":79,"children":-1},"Speechless in Seattle","\u002Farticles\u002Fspeechless-in-seattle","articles\u002Fspeechless-in-seattle","One of the wonderful things about my job is that I get to write 52 articles a year with the confident assurance that the editor will decide to publish them all! To be honest, that's also one of the frightening things about my job. The discipline of writing a weekly column keeps me searching God's Word, pondering our readers' needs, and prayerfully evaluating what really needs to be said."]