Do you have a critical eye or a critical heart?

Introduction:

Genesis 5:32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Genesis 7:11-13 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month —on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.

We start the story with Noah, being 500 years old, he had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. In their lifetime and through their kid’s upbringing, Noah relentlessly builds an ark. You can imagine how much pressure and even bullying the kids felt as the child of a man who builds this megastructure for now reason. Yet, we see how building this ark built Noah’s children’s character. It helped them grow in:

Perseverance
Developing a thick skin
Trust
Growing closer to God
Patience

Genesis 7:7-10 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

While building the ark, imagine the taunting and venue threats to burn the ark. Even after building the ark, the family was put under pressure maintaining the ark, before and especially during the flood! The Ark would be a floating zoo! Noah needed a hand in feeding and even shovelling animal waste throughout the time of the flood – closer to a year.

Genesis 7:24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

Ultimately, we look at the life of these three kids was their lives defined by the by th least. In the same way is your life’s experiences making you bitter or better?

Point 1: “I would never do that”

Ham after the flood was different in how he reacted towards the situation. Unlike his brothers and Noah, Ham got critical especially in the contempt he had for his father.

Genesis 9:18-29 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said,

“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers. ”
He also said,
“Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
May God extend Japheth’s territory;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died

Just like that the question we need to be asking is: “How do you react and treat your leaders when they make a mistake.” When Noah drank too much and fell asleep naked in his tent his sons acted with very different responses. Ham sees it and simply goes back to his brothers and mocks him for his mistake. Yet we see Shem and Japheth react differently in covering Noah. Ham had a critical news of heart, as he declared in his heart “I would never do that”. With that, when problems strike do you become. Critical and simply become part of the problem, or do you become the solution. Do you see your leaders for all the things they have done right, or the few things they have done wrong?

Hebrews 13:17 Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you

Do you often catch yourself saying the following words:

“I would never do that”
“I wouldn’t do it that way”
“I would listen if someone else were saying it”

What does a critical heart lead you to doing?

2 Samuel 6:20-23 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honour.” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

We see in this story that Michal, daughter of Saul, grew critical for his husband David’s audacious way of worship. Deep in his heart, Michal grew to have a critical and bitter heart and at the end of her life, we can surmise she was unhappy, without a child and alone.

Is that us today? Are we the grumpy old Christian at the back of the church? Do you see yourself complaining about those in charge, instead of helping in those in charge?

Some quotes to reflect on:

“Don’t criticize what you can’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.”

Elvis Presley

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them”

Mother Teresa

“Don’t criticize your wife. If she were perfect, she’d have married better”

Point 2: “I probably have done that”

Genesis 9:18-29 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked. Shem unlike Ham goes back into his father’s room and seeing his naked and asleep state proceeds to do something about it. He gets covers for him and covers Noah to prevent further dishonour. Shem overlooked his father’s folly and decided to continue to see him as a man who saved his family from the destruction of the world. Shem had a critical eye towards his father’s mistake but not a critical heart as he respected and took care of his father till the end.

Genesis 9:26-27 He also said, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,

Because of this God uses Shem and his family line to bring about Abraham and with them the state of Israel to even bring the Messiah: Jesus! Just like sin, your righteousness especially will affect the people who come after you. What kind of legacy are you leaving behind?