SLANDER

"Do not speak against one another, brethren.  He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it" (James 4:11).

To criticize someone is to make a value judgement concerning them and to set yourself up as their judge.  The problem with that is that you are not their judge--only God is!  To judge is to set yourself above the one you are judging and is to demonstrate that you think that you know better than God.  Criticism (judging) devalues the object of your criticism and thus sets you in opposition to God (who values everyone) and in opposition to the law (which also values humanity).  Our God-given task is not to evaluate others obedience to God, but rather to focus solely on obeying the law of God ourselves.  

The Greek word for "devil" is "diabalos" and literally means "slanderer".  You don't want to join the devil in his work.  Rather, resist him and he will run away (James 4:7).  The work of God is quite different from the devil's.  "God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

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oday, try avoiding criticism and try embracing reconciliation--not holding peoples faults against them.  To succeed you will have to turn off the auto-pilot and become conscious of your thoughts and actions.  Periodically today, stop what you are doing, and prayerfully allow the Spirit to evaluate your thoughts, your words, and your actions.