Of the catalog of vices, maybe none is more convenient to nurture than that of fault-finding. It is a wonderfully useful sin. Those who invest the time and effort to perfect this particular propensity will soon come to experience the pleasure it provides.

First and foremost is the improvement of your overall SELF-IMAGE. Now, it was probably pretty good already. But once the art of fault-finding has found a happy home in your heart, you will be surprised how much better you suddenly look and feel. The enhancement it brings to the ego is astounding. That constant internal condemnation of the actions and intentions (don’t forget the intentions!) of others is like a perpetual pat on your proverbial back. And with enough practice you will successfully spot that speck in someone’s eye, no matter how small, and never even be bothered by the log in your own.

You will also come to appreciate the amount of additional TIME this nasty habit will soon afford you. Why, you will almost never need to get involved in anything or help anyone, once you have clearly perceived the inherent flaws and failures of those who could use your assistance. They brought it on themselves! To volunteer any assistance would almost make you complicit in their sin. Best to leave them to their own mess! They made their bed, let them sleep in it. Does that charity need some help? They should have planned better. Is the church asking for some volunteers? No organization so poorly mismanaged as the church has a right to your time or talents. Find their faults, my dear friend, and you will effectively delivery yourself from every invitation to get involved.

But maybe the most convenient consequence of your highly developed faculty for fault-finding is that, properly and regularly exercised, you can never be BLAMED for anything. Everything will be someone else’s fault: the fault of the government, the fault of your boss, the fault of the elders, the fault of your spouse. No charge can ever successfully be laid at the foot of your door. Adam, our father, was an expert in this from Eden itself. “The woman that You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate (Gen. 3:12).” It was HER fault! With practice, you too will skillfully skate around every accusation and ensure that you are never responsible, never guilty, never wrong. Fault-finding is the ultimate get-out-of-jail free card in life.

Oh, and if anyone suggests that you change your ways and give others the benefit of the doubt, don’t fall for that trap for a minute. It’s a slippery slope my friend. Soon you will be making generous and gracious excuses for others, and before long you will start to see that you don’t look so good yourself. One false step, and you might find yourself a happy and healthy human once again!