The folks over at Christianity Today Movies have been taking some heat lately for publishing less-than-glowing reviews of recent films made by Christians while positively reviewing "questionable" R-rated movies. CT has published a commentary on the topic. It's actually an edited version of a blog entry by Jeffery Overstreet, one of the CT Movies reviewers. I highly recommend reading it, and then re-reading it.
This issue and these responses got me thinking about a related issue. There seems to be a feeling among some Christians that we should all be "nice" to each other, that we should never criticize each other, especially if we're doing the "right thing". In other words, if the message is the right message, you shouldn't criticize how the message is being communicated. I think this attitude is wrong-headed.
The underlying assumption here is that being nice = being loving. It's not true. In fact, sometimes being nice is most assuredly NOT the loving thing to do. We are called to spur one another on in the most literal sense of the word. The NIV and NET translations chose the word "spur" because the original Greek word literally means "a sharpening". Sometimes, being "spurred" is painful, just ask any horse.
We must speak the truth in love, but we still must speak the truth. Our primary goal as Christians should not be to avoid conflict but to provoke continual growth and maturity, not just in areas of life traditionally considered "spiritual" but in all areas of life. We need to encourage and cheer for each other when we use our gifts, but to deny each other the "spur" of constructive criticism is to act un-lovingly.
I appreciate Jeffery Overstreet, Peter Chattaway, and their collegues over at CT Movies. I value their reviews and the way they address both the message and the artistic qualities of movies in an honest way. Keep up the good work, folks. Spur Christian artists on to excellence. It's the loving thing to do.