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 "Some
people find fault like there was a reward for it!" The
author of that statement is unknown to me, but he obviously knew
something about the chronic faultfinders among us. Few have
contributed more to our misery and unhappiness than they. Their
nefarious work has alienated friends, divided churches and
resulted in irreparable harm to the Lord's cause in many places.
In fact, one would be hard pressed to find any good that
has ever come through faultfinding.
But
don't misunderstand. The faithful Christian can no more ignore
and condone sin than he can become a faultfinder. God says that
"love covereth a multitude of sins" (1 Pet. 4:8). In
commenting on this passage, Lenski says: "There will be
sins on the part of the brethren which may tend to slacken our
love for them; such sins make it hard to show them love.
Although the strain may be great, love is to stand it". And
again: "Love hides them (sins) from its own sight and not
from God's sight. Hate does the opposite; it pries about in
order to discover some sin or some semblance of sin in a brother
and then broadcasts it, even exaggerates it, gloats over it. It
is unjust to the apostle to say that he wants Christians to hush
up and to hide criminality or vice that have occurred in their
midst". (Interpretation of 1st Peter, P. 194, 195).
The faultfinder searches for fault to exploit; love recognizes
sin to remedy--and therein lies a vast difference.
Paradoxically, however, much faultfinding is practiced under the
guise of "love". May we be spared that brand of love
and its every expression!
But,
even seeking out faults in the name of love wouldn't be all that
bad if the
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"findings" were not broadcast
and exaggerated, as Lenski notes. Trouble is, the faultfinder
feels obliged to become the fault teller. Then, flavored with
his personal innuendos and evil surmisings, what he is telling
has a way of swelling — all out of proportion to the real or
imagined fault. But the snowballing process does not end here.
For with the telling comes a hearing — and most likely, the
hearer will be influenced by what he hears. The influenced
hearer easily becomes the prejudiced teller who influences other
hearers. And so goes the expanding circle of involvement — and
to the detriment of all parties. Few have escaped the effects of
the picky people problem. Is there a remedy?
Yes.
It has already been referred to in 1 Pet. 4:8. It is love. Too
many Christians have only heard the negative side of love; that
it is not a gooey, emotional, sentimental and mushy cover-up for
whitewashing sin. A serious study of 1 Cor. 13 would go far to
correcting misunderstandings about love. Bible love needs
studying, preaching and teaching desperately! God's people are
to do all in love (1 Cor. 16:14). Love does not look for evil in
others neither does it speak evil of others (Jas. 4:11). Love
ever seeks what is best for others. It suffers long with their
shortcomings and faults; it is always kind (1 Cor. 13:4).
It seeks and sees the best in others; it promotes good finding,
not faultfinding. Let's preach and practice loving one another
from the heart
fervently! Dan S.
Shipley
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