One of the hardest things for me over the years, has been to take criticism. I find myself all to often wanting to think that I’m doing everything right and that I’m on the right track in my walk with Christ, and in the other areas in my life. And then, someone will point out something they see in me, that they think is wrong, or needs some improvement. My natural reaction is to listen, but not to take it seriously. I have even found myself getting irritated with people who are trying to help me with something when I am unwilling to listen.
It can be a crushing blow to think you have something all together and then someone crushes that bubble with reality. I’m sure that not every piece of criticism is one hundred percent accurate, but more often than not, people see things in us, that we can’t see in ourselves. Self analysis is so difficult because our pride gets in the way. For me, as I already mentioned, I like to think I have it all together and I tell myself, “They can’t possibly be right”, or, “Why do they think it’s their business to tell me what to do”.
In my reading today of the third chapter of second Thessalonians, Paul was warning about the dangers of idleness. While this doesn’t apply much to criticism, here is what he says in verses 14 and 15.
” 14 Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.”
The second part of that in verse 15 tells to warn them as you would a fellow believer. I thought about that this morning and it reminded me about taking criticism. This instance is specific to idleness, but the Bible tells us that we are to warn our fellow believers. We are to point out these things to another believer to help him because God commands us to. I used to think that it wasn’t another person’s place to give me criticism or advice, but from a brother, I should expect it, and be thankful. God is almost certainly trying to say something to me through that person. So perhaps, ignoring them means I’m missing out on an opportunity to grow in my faith in Christ.
