Jump Start # 3685

Jude 16 “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lust; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”

Our verse today is not pretty. You won’t find this hanging on someone’s wall. A saying like this won’t sell well at Hobby Lobby. But it’s necessary and it’s given to us by God.

Jude is pleading with the faithful of God to steer clear of the wicked false teachers that seemed to be gaining a foothold among brethren in the late first century. Paralleled to 2 Peter 2, twisted thinking was denying Christ, opening the door to loose and immoral living and rebelling against the authority of the apostles. In essence, they had trouble with the Christ of the Bible and the Bible of Christ.

Our verse, one of several in the short book of Jude, identifies these trouble-makers are arrogant, complaining, taking advantage of others and fault finding. Such exists today. Not happy and not content with the way the N.T. patterns things, some complain. They find fault. They point fingers. They hold the door open for others to leave.

And, in this dark description we find “finding fault.” Today, we simply phrase this, ‘fault finders.’ Lets give that some thought.

First, people find what they are looking for. Jesus said, “seek and you will find.” The question is, what are we looking for? If one is looking for trouble, he’ll find it. If one is looking for sin, the devil will provide. If one is looking for good, he’ll see it.

While we are here on this planet, things will never be perfect. In our worship, songs will be pitched too high, sung too low, and drag. Sermons will state the wrong reference. They will be typos in bulletins and notecards. Prayers may sound repeated. Some will come in late. Some will leave early. If one is looking for things wrong, there are plenty of things to notice on a Sunday morning. Fault finders will find fault. However, if one is looking to God, he’ll find Him. Beautiful days. Smiling children. Hymns that touch the heart. Prayers that are passionate. Love that is shared.

Second, some by their very nature are experts at finding faults. I’ve known some brethren for decades, and if they ever complimented someone, praised something, or had a smile on their face, I think I’d pass out. Some are determined to leave this place miserable and complaining. And, that’s sad. It doesn’t have to be that way. Finding fault and finding goodness is a matter of the heart. One doesn’t have to be the way they are. They could change.

I’ve noticed also that fault finders tend to marry fellow fault finders. It’s rare to find a complainer and a complementer married to each other. I think they’d cancel each other out. One fault finder fuels another fault finder and when that’s the household, gloom and doom is what you will find.

Third, fault finders rarely start with themselves. It’s everyone else that is wrong. The church is wrong. The worship is wrong. The temperature in the building is wrong. People parked their cars wrong. The weather outside is wrong. Food at the restaurant is wrong. Nothing seems to be right, except them.

Reminds me of some grandchildren that rubbed some stinky cheese under the nose of grandpa while he was sleeping. When he woke up, he took a big sniff and declared that the room stinks. He went into the kitchen to see what was cooking. He said it stank. He went outside to get some fresh air and said that the whole world stinks. He never realized, until the giggling grandchildren confessed their actions that he was the one that smelled. And, so it often is with the fault finder. If we all began by looking in the mirror, we realize that we don’t have much to complain about the other person. We are far from perfect and we need a lot of work ourselves.

And, that’s about the only way a fault finder will stop pointing fingers at others. It’s when he holds up a mirror and humbles himself and realizes that he has done a lot of complaining but had done very little to help out or be part of the solution that he’ll begin the road to recovery. It is then that he will stop expecting others to fix things and he will step up and encourage, help and support those who are engaged in the walk with the Lord. Contend earnestly for the faith, likely the most known verse in Jude, does not give the liberty to be contentious. Contending is fighting for. Contentious is fighting against. Contending is staying with God’s way. Contentious is questioning God’s way.

Finding fault. I wonder what does a person do once they find fault? Most times, complaining follows. Nothing productive. Nothing helpful. Nothing that pulls a person closer to the Lord. Maybe that’s why we find arrogance, grumbling and taking advantage of others all linked together in this verse.

How about we find something today to thank the Lord for? How about we find something good today? How about we find someone to encourage today? Leave the faults to those who dwell in the gutter of life. Let us walk nobly and righteously with the Lord.

Roger