There are two kinds of criticism: 1) Unfair criticism. There’ll always be people who seem to enjoy criticising us; people who try to build themselves up by tearing others down. It might be because they’re jealous of our achievements and want to lessen our joy, or they might think that the only way they can feel good about themselves is by making others feel bad. We should try to avoid their influence on us, but we should also pray for them. 2) Constructive criticism. Solomon said, ‘Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear’ (Proverbs 25:12 NIV). Constructive criticism is very valuable to us if we want to find ways to improve ourselves and what we’re doing. But we’re naturally reluctant to hear or discover anything that’s critical or unflattering about ourselves, and this reluctance is a major obstacle we need to overcome if we want to reach our highest potential. We’ll often try to avoid criticism by becoming defensive or trying to hide our flaws from other people, but when we do that, we close the door to a vital source of self-knowledge and lose the joy of growing. Every one of us can improve what we’re doing or the way we’re doing it. In fact, if we’re still celebrating what we did last year, we’re probably not making enough progress this year. If we want to achieve something tomorrow, we must be teachable today. Or as Solomon put it: ‘Whoever learns from correction is wise’ (Proverbs 15:5 NLT).

What Now?

Next time someone criticises you, try to assess if it’s unfair or constructive. If it’s unfair, ask God to help change the heart of the person and work on the root cause of their unfairness. If it’s constructive, ask God how you can best put it into practice. make steps to improve.