As human beings, I think we too readily seize every opportunity to criticize others. Some may even look for such openings.

I don't know if putting others down or reminding them of their shortcomings makes us feel better about ourselves, or if we think such actions make us look better in the eyes of others. Who knows why we do it? We just do it. And that is a sad commentary on who and what we have become.

If you watch the presidential campaign ads on television and listen to what folks are saying on talk radio, you'll find much of the same. We don't hear about where the candidates stand on issues important to the people they want to serve. We hear each one tell us about what the other candidates think and about how wrong they are. Everyone criticizes the others, but no one tells us where they stand.

Scriptures tell us that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, or any one of us -- singularly -- for that matter. That should be a pretty good example for us to follow.

I firmly believe that harboring a critical spirit within us hinders our ability to be compassionate. And if we are to be what we are supposed to be in this life, we need to have compassion one for another.

Compassion should always supersede tradition, competition, or any other thing that may cause us to be critical of others. Yet, many religious people all too often have a critical spirit and come across as harsh, judgmental, and fault-finding.

But according to Scriptures, when we criticize others, we condemn ourselves. Simply put, we are not to focus on someone else's faults and disregard our own. Yet, that's exactly how we act sometimes. We find fault, point fingers, and generally run others through the proverbial mill, all the while thanking God that we aren't as sinful as they are.

Here's a little secret you may not have heard too much about recently: God is more concerned about who we are on the inside than what we look like on the outside. He cares more about how much compassion we have than whether or not we keep to the strict religious traditions we've been taught. God knows our hearts and He can see through our religion.

Having compassion rather than a critical spirit is a choice. We should allow the Lord to lead us when we're dealing with others. We should always choose to have compassion.

We should aim to be compassionate, not critical.

Again, we have a pretty good example. Let's try to follow Him.