The Christian Church persecutes its own members

Mat 7:1-5 "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

Too often Christians, while well meaning by those that are more religious than Christian, try and tell someone that they need help without seeing that they need help themselves. Imagine walking into a hospital and you see someone with a tumor on their face or someone limping with a broken leg and you tell that them that they have their specific problem and telling them they need help. Just telling someone they have a problem is not helping at all, it's only part of the solution. But it breaks down to these three steps:

1. Admitting the problem is the first part of the process of getting better, but that's where most people stop who view others and their problems, they only tell the other person they have a problem. But the key here is knowing EXACTLY what their problem is!! IF you don't know the whole situation you can make the problem worse much like a doctor who misdiagnoses a disease. You could cause irreparable harm if you don't understand the issue exactly and completely, and most do not even know the complete problem even though they've convinced themselves they do. You can't know everything about a person and what they are thinking and feeling although SOME of an issue may become apparent.
2. Providing help is the second step to getting better. This is where you get somewhat involved with that person. If you are blessed somehow and in some way, then you are to be a blessing to others by providing what you are blessed with to those that are without. To be stingy with what you have is to be selfish. Pointing out a problem requires dispensing encouragement or "soul salve" to the situation. If you don't provide that "soul salve" you do like 1 Cor 13:1-3 describes, lots of work without love makes your effort worthless.
3. Recognize you may have a different problem than the person you are helping. Just because you're helping out a person who needs your help such as a "tumor on their face", do NOT forget you have problems yourself such as "bone cancer"! Pointing out their problems without seeing yours makes you a hypocrite and to think that you don't have a tumor on the face makes you better than having bone cancer is to be short sighted.

But, what is Jesus saying above? He's stating that you should work on yourself first and get your own self fixed before you fix others. In other words, those that look to others to fix them are those that are hypocrites and do NOT want to look at their own problems and have self justified their own actions as if there is nothing wrong with what they are doing themselves. Self righteous and scoffers are of a similar vein and they've come to believe that their shit does not stink!

So, what is the correct approach? Try reading 1 Cor 11:23-34, but especially verses 27-31 as well as James 3:11-18 "Does a fountain send out from the same opening {both} fresh and bitter {water?} Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor {can} salt water produce fresh. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and {so} lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

So, if only criticism comes out of your mouth, you're like the well that brings out salt water, but if you dispense encouragement, then that's the fresh, cool, clear water that people need. But it also depends on the amount of salt versus fresh water that comes out of your mouth. If 80% of your words you speak are criticisms, then it gives a glimpse of what your heart is like, it contains salt water as well, because what comes out of the mouth is what is in the heart of the individual.

It reminds me of what my mother use to say, "If you can't say anything nice, do say anything at all." Good advice, and it provides cool, clear, refreshing water to a person's soul and allows them to move forward in life rather than being held back by their "sins" of their past.

As I saw on the show "Nanny 911" a couple of weeks back the nanny stated a rather interesting point of about a kid acting up: negative acting up by kids is the only way they get some attention and if parents would provide positive attention and encouragement to their kids, there will be a big reduction in negative acting out and will result in positive actions from then on by their kids.

It also reminds me of also of what Jesus states. In Matt 18:21-35 Jesus uses a rather interesting word in Greek. In verse 24 the Greek word is murioi or MURIOI and while translated $10,000, it probably really means $10,000,000 or the number is innumerable. But in the next verse Jesus states "But since he did not have the means to repay" really is best understood that while the servant would have LIKED to repay the King, the servants debt was so overwhelming him and his family and there is not WAY he could have repaid the King even though the servant WANTED to repay him.

This is also a picture of Jesus Christ's and each individual effort on our behalf toward God the Father's Judgement about our sins. There is NO POSSIBLE way to repay Jesus Christ for our sins, it is impossible!! But Jesus forgives us of our sins and as my wife explains that as Jesus has forgive each of us our innumerable sins, we are to forgive those around us, even though as Jesus stated about his own death in Luk 23:34 "But Jesus was saying, 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.'" because they THOUGHT they were doing right and were not. People's own additions prevent them from seeing the truth about themselves and others.

So, what you say to others really says a lot about what is in your heart and so that if criticisms and condemnation of others is your normal way of doing things then it says a lot about your heart toward others, either an arrogance or insecurities. The corrective actions then become, fix yourself first and then "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."