Great verse; "If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise."
Frankly, I don't like criticism! However, I have learned that it often carries, at least, threads of truth from which I can learn. I recall many years ago a man criticized me for saying I had a load of dirt dumped in my yard. He said, "it was soil that was dumped in my yard, dirt is what one removes from the vacuum cleaner bag." I thought that was so silly to nit pick so much... but the lesson was to learn and apply it in a constructive manner. God desires us to learn and grow from our critics.
Now I literally stop and pray, "God, is there something in this that you desire me to know and learn?" Very often I find something I can learn and apply. Sometimes I know it is false and unmerited. Either way, I am choosing to listen, learn and apply for growth in my life.
How do you handle your criticisms?
God bless you,
PJ
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Too many times I hear criticism and react negatively to it without carefully considering if it is constructive or negative. Whether it comes from someone who cares or someone who is just a negative person. This devo has encouraged me to listen to all criticism, evaluate it carefully, heed the good constructive type and simply ignore the negative destructive type instead of reacting to it. I also need to be careful about what I say to and about others so that others will respect what I say when I say it.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeletePj