Our culture loves to criticize other people in the work they do. It only takes a cursory review of the comments on YouTube to see that is true. In fact, however, the truth is that the vast majority of critical speech simply reflects the insecurity of the speaker who feels the need to diminish the other in order to feel good about themselves. Of course, there are instances where criticism is justified, such as when one person seeks to harm another or to remove from them the things they need to exist such as food, clothing, shelter, a decent income, and human dignity. Sadly, those types of criticism in our culture are rare. It is a helpful spiritual practice to examine our own critical speech to see if our criticisms are justified or if our motivation comes from a less noble place. It is not easy to overcome a deeply ingrained habit of criticism, but step-by-step, gradually, we may find that we are able to be less critical and more supportive of others. That is a sure sign of spiritual growth.