Our Lord said in Matthew 11:16-19:
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
Many in Jesus’ day could not be satisfied. They rejected both Jesus and John on different terms. They criticized John for not socializing with the people and claimed he was a demoniac. However, they criticized Jesus for socializing with the people, calling him a glutton and a drunk. It is obvious from their charges that these people were extremely unfair. If it weren’t for the seriousness of the fact that their rejection of Jesus cost them their souls, their charges would be comical.
Jesus compares these people to children who must have it their way. If someone does not follow their lead, they throw a fit. One cannot win with this sort of people. Sadly, there are many in our present age who are of the same stripe. They will use any excuse not to fulfill their responsibility to obey God. Often, unfair expectations are placed on God. People want freedom of choice, but they grow angry and bitter against God when another person is allowed to make a choice that harms them. Many will not listen to God, but when they find themselves in trouble they expect God to listen to them. They cannot have it both ways.
There are even some in the church who act accordingly. Some almost make it a sport to criticize every little thing they can in the church. By their attitude they make engaging in acceptable worship impossible for themselves and difficult for others. There are legitimate concerns and criticisms that need to be addressed, but when criticisms are constant and unreasonable a deeper spiritual problem lies at the root. I have observed that those who are the biggest critics and most insistent that others change are often the most easily offended and least likely to change themselves. Instead of examining themselves and making changes, it is easier to shift the focus elsewhere.
Is this not why people made ridiculous accusations against John and Jesus? If they accepted the Divine message, they would have to change. Instead they chose to reject the message and attempted to justify themselves in doing so. Criticism of others is often an attempt to justify oneself. When Pharisees derided Jesus (Luke 16:14), he replied, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts” (Luke 16:15). We might as well get out of the habit criticizing others to justify ourselves for there will be no shifting blame in the final judgment (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
-Mark Day
