What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Discouragement by critics and suspicious people"
Answer
Criticism, mistrust, and constant reproach can sow deep discouragement and undermine trust in God's guidance. Ellen White warns that a spirit of doubt and fault‑finding—like that in ancient Israel—can today hinder the church and keep it from the heavenly Canaan. Rather than listening to accusations, believers should remain rooted in Scripture and build one another up with love and patience, not discourage one another through harshness or suspicion.
Doubt and criticism sow unbelief
»Men full of doubt, criticism, and complaints can sow seeds of unbelief and mistrust, which bring a rich harvest.«
Constant reproach creates hopelessness
»Constant reproach confuses but does not reform. For many hearts, and especially those of delicate sensitivity, an atmosphere of unsympathetic criticism is deadly to any effort. … Thus discouragement and hopelessness are produced, often hidden beneath a pretense of indifference or bravado.«
An discouraging word strengthens egoism
»It takes only one discouraging word to awaken and strengthen egoism in the soul. Do not listen to those who try to discourage you. … Criticism, complaints, and reproach bring no relief to our brothers in their confusion and distress.«
Mistrust and suspicion are exposed
»Your mistrust, your suspicions, and your jealousy would be exposed, and your weaknesses laid bare, so that you may see and understand them if you wish.«
Ungracious criticism makes life colorless
»Ungracious criticism brings discouragement, makes life colorless and unhappy. My brothers, overcome through love rather than through sternness.«
Critics make the work harder
»Some of their brothers stood beside them, criticized, alleged evil, interpreted the motives of the heavily burdened workers with a prejudiced view, and made their work more difficult. Blind to self‑interest, these reproachers did not realize that their brothers were already suffering enough without the added criticism from men who had not borne heavy loads or responsibilities.«
The spirit of reproach and doubt persists
»The same spirit of reproach and doubt reappeared throughout the entire forty years. … A few objections that they could not or would not understand outweighed everything else.«
Give no room to discouragement
»Give discouragement no room. Do not criticize those who are trying to do things in the right direction; instead, go to work yourself.«
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
Why I built EGW Vision
Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
EGW Vision helps you find topics, statements, and quotes faster, especially when many original sources are not yet fully available in your language. The tool searches semantically, groups relevant content by topic, and presents matching results as clearly as possible in your language.
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