Inner Treasure
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Chapter 5 #5. Criticism
"Don't criticisze people and you will not be criticized. For you will be judged by the way you criticize others, and the measure you give will be the measure you receive." (Matthew 7:1-2)
If we take this teaching on the outer level, Jesus is again giving us a naive bit of advice. Everyone experiences negative, unfair judgments about themselves. Not criticizing others will not prevent us from being criticized. Besides, Jesus himself did not follow this advice. He frequently made stinging attacks on the scribes and Pharisees. It seems unlikely Jesus would instruct us to behave in a manner he did not adhere to himself.
To grasp the inner meaning of this teaching, it is helpful to see the original meaning of the word "criticism." Criticism etymologically derives from the Greek word, krinein, meaning "to separate." To stand in judgment separates us from the one who is being judged. Rather than serving the purpose of wholeness or completeness, criticism creates separations, divided parts. Criticism is thus dangerous because it separates or divides people.
When we consider that what we criticize in others is usually true of a portion of ourselves, then we have the key to the inner meaning of this message. We can't see these unacceptable traits in ourselves, even though others can. We only see them in someone else. So our criticisms not only separate us from other people, they create divisions in ourselves, too. The measure we give is the measure we receive.
In therapy we see this regularly. Our psyches hand back to us in our dreams the criticisms we've leveled so piously at others. Jews dream of being Nazis. Clergymen dream of being pimps. Women of high society dream they are prostitutes. Fritz Kunkel [Creation Continues: Word Books, Waco, Texas, 1973] astutely points out it is because we see in other people what we hate in ourselves that when we judge them, we are, in effect, judging ourselves.
Reflect for a few minutes on the particular character trait which you find most upsetting in someone else. Which ones raise your blood pressure the most? Having identified these traits which most irritate you, seek to identify where they live in you. In what ways do you display them? If you have trouble seeing them, ask your most intimate friend if he or she has ever observed them in you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreward
Introduction
Acknowledgements
CHAPTER ONE: SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
1. On Speaking in Parables........Matthew 13:1-17
2. The Secret of the Kingdom.........Mark 4:10-12
3. Hidden Treasure..................Matthew 13:44
4. Pearls of Great Value.........Matthew 13:45-46
CHAPTER TWO: THE KINGDOM AS AN IMAGE OF GROWTH
1. The Mustard Seed..............Matthew 13:31-32
2. The Kingdom as Yeast.............Matthew 13:33
3. Receptive Soil..................Matthew 13:1-9
4. The Kingdom Within...............Luke 17:20-21
5. Completeness......................Matthew 5:48
CHAPTER THREE: ENTERING THE KINGDOM
1. The Narrow Gate................Matthew 7:13-14
2. A Greater Virtue...............Matthew 5:17-20
3. The Eye of the Needle............Luke 18:18-25
4. Entering the Kingdom is a Violent Experience
........Luke 16:16
5. Inner Cleansing...............Matthew 23:25-28
6. You Are Not What You Eat..........Mark 7:14-23
7. Pharisee at Prayer................Luke 18:9-14
8. Metanoia..........................Matthew 4:17
CHAPTER FOUR: THE CRISIS NATURE OF THE KINGDOM
1. A New Consciousness.........Matthew 9:16-17
2. A Question of Priorities.......Matthew 8:18-22
3. The Sword.....................Matthew 10:34-39
4. Footsteps of Christ..............Luke 14:25-27
5. Extended Family...............Matthew 12:46-50
6. Receiving More...................Luke 18:29-30
7. Sand and Rock..................Matthew 7:24-30
8. Night Sea Journey.................Luke 8:22-25
CHAPTER FIVE: INNER RECONCILIATION
1. Restitution......................Luke 12:57-59
2. The Prodigal Son.................Luke 15:11-32
3. Mary and Martha..................Luke 10:38-42
4. Inner Reconciliation...........Matthew 5:21-24
5. Criticism........................Matthew 7:1-2
6. The Plank........................Matthew 7:3-5
7. Adulterous Woman...................John 8:2-11
8. A Difference of Values.........Matthew 5:43-47
9. Love..........................Matthew 22:34-40
CHAPTER SIX: INNER AND OUTER
1. Caesar or God....................Mark 12:13-17
2. Light of the World.............Matthew 5:14-16
3. Balancing Duality................Matthew 10:16
4. Serving Two Masters...............Luke 16:1-15
5. Unconsciously Unctuous......Matthew 7:15-23
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING VIGILANT
1. Be Alert......................Matthew 24:42-44
2. Spiritual Serendipity..........Luke 12:35-38 &
Luke 21:34-36
3. Ennui and Awakening............Matthew 25:1-13
CHAPTER EIGHT: VANITY AND SERVITUDE
1. Secret Pride......................Luke 17:7-10
2. Laborers in the Vineyard.......Matthew 20:1-16
3. The Sons of Zebedee.........Matthew 20:20-28
4. The Inner Split..................Luke 16:19-31
5. Faithful and Unfaithful Servants.......Matthew 24:45-51
6. Parables of Talents and Pounds.........Matthew 25:14-30 & Luke 19:11-28
CHAPTER NINE: MANNA
1. Bread of Life.....................John 6:24-35
2. Giving More Than We Have.....Matthew 14:13b-21
3. Living Water.......................John 4:5-15
4. Only a Little Love to Give........Luke 7:36-50
CHAPTER TEN: REDEEMING THE DARKNESS
1. Revitalization................Matthew 24:29-31
2. Noah..........................Matthew 24:37-41
3. Scapegoating...................Matthew 8:28-34
4. Lost Coins and Sheep............Luke 15:8-10 &
Matthew 18:10-14
5. Least of These My Brethren....Matthew 25:34-41
6. The Good Samaritan...............Luke 10:25-37
7. Salvation through Sacrifice....Matthew 5:29-30
8. Resurrection and Life............John 11:17-26
APPENDICES
A. Suggestions for Personal Study
B. Suggestions for Group Study
Footnotes
Glossary
Index