Miriam

Miriam sang this song: "Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; He has hurled both horse and rider into the sea."
Exodus 15:21

When we first meet Miriam she is involved in one of history's most unusual babysitting jobs. She is watching her infant brother float on the Nile River in a waterproof cradle. Miriam's quick thinking allowed Moses to be raised by his own mother. Miriam's position of protective superiority, reinforced by that event, must have been hard to give up as she watched her little brother rise to greatness.

Eventually Moses' choice of wife gave Miriam an opportunity to criticize. It was natural for her insecurity to break out over this issue. With Moses married, Miriam was clearly no longer the most important woman in his life. The real issue, however, was not the kind of woman Moses had married. It was the fact he was now the most important man in Israel.

"Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn't He spoken through us, too?" Miriam and Aaron asked (Numbers 12:2). God had a quick answer for these siblings. He clearly pointed out His special relationship with Moses. As punishment for Miriam's insubordination, she was stricken with leprosy. But Moses, true to his character, interceded for his sister, and God healed her.

Before criticizing someone else, we need to pause long enough to discover our own motives. Failing to do this can bring disastrous results. What is often labeled "constructive criticism" may actually be destructive jealousy, since the easiest way to raise our own status is to put someone else down. I'm trying to figure out if I'm willing to examine my motives before I offer criticism, because sometimes it's easy to not do so. It's hard to actually have a desire to seek out any jealousy that I have in my life because if I do that then I'd have to admit it and then deal with it. Jealousy is an ugly thing and not pleasant to deal with, but I'd sooner have the ugliness out of me then allow it to remain in me.