Proverbs 15:31 (NLT), “If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.”
Criticism is defined as the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything. Criticism is also, the act of passing severe judgment; censure; fault finding. The person who delivers the criticism is called a critic. A critic is a person who judges, evaluates or criticizes. A critic is also, a person who tends too readily to make captious, trivial, or harsh judgments; fault finder.
Criticism is something you will face throughout your life. You will tend to see it more and more as you strive to achieve those goals God has placed within your heart. The interesting thing about criticism and critics is they can be both totally helpful and totally destructive. It truly all depends on the motives of the person doing the criticizing.
Jesus himself faced many critics during His time here on earth. These critics were trying to find anything they could to discredit and destroy Him. In one particular story, Jesus was in the temple on the Sabbath and a man with a deformed hand was sitting there. Jesus wanted to heal the man but knew what His critics would say if He did because no work was supposed to be done on the Sabbath. This included healing someone. In Luke 6:9 (NLT) Jesus faced those critics, “Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or destroy it?” His critics had nothing to say and Jesus went on to heal the man’s hand.
Many times on your journey through life you will face these types of critics. People who want nothing more than to see you fail. They will try to find fault in you, pass judgment on you, anything they can think of to keep you from reaching your goals. This can be a loud group at times and the negativity can be hard to take. This is where your faith kicks in and you lean on Jesus to bring you through. These critics may never be for you but that’s okay, Jesus also dealt with the negative critics and won.
However, there is a group of critics God may place along your path from time to time who bring a different kind of criticism. You’ve probably heard of it before, constructive criticism. These constructive critics don’t want to see you fail, rather they want to see you succeed. They are put on your path to provide suggestions and corrections to help you improve and have an easier path toward your goals. Listening to this type of criticism is what we are supposed to do and will be to our benefit. As it says in Scripture, Proverbs 25:12 (NLT), “To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry.”
Listening to criticism can be a tough pill for any of us to swallow. Your goal is to separate the negative, trying to bring you down, criticism from the constructive, trying to bring you up, criticism. When given with the right motive, criticism from others can help raise you further towards who God calls you to be. Be open to listening to those critics in your life who want to help you get there, while shutting out the negative critics.
Truth In Love! ~ Chuck