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PROGRAM D-7203
Handling criticism well is a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity. How would you rate yourself when it comes to handling criticism from other people?
It’s very important that we do not let criticism send us on a guilt trip. Criticisms are either valid or invalid. When they’re valid, we simply need to make the necessary changes and use them for good in our lives. When they’re invalid, we need to get it out of our head and forget about it.
I find that it’s very easy to dwell on a criticism for days and days after the event, and that can cause me to exaggerate its importance and its significance. We can allow the most insignificant criticism to throw us into a tailspin for days, can’t we?
It has taken me far too long to understand that criticism will come my way; that’s life and whether fair or not, my responsibility is to handle it in a Christ-like manner. I need to be open to honest, fair criticism and let it spur me to make needed changes in my life. And I need to recognize unfair criticism for what it is, and let it go.
When you are confident of your value to God, the more you understand your position as a believer in Jesus Christ—accepted in Christ, seated in heavenly places in Christ, secure in your relationship with God through Jesus—then you are less susceptible to the slings and arrows that others may throw at you. I’m not talking about being arrogant, but rather having a quiet confidence because you know that no person can destroy your worth, no matter what they say or do. No one can condemn you but Jesus, and he doesn’t! Romans 8:1 reminds us that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
You can truly come to the place where legitimate words of criticism are received as important insight for you, and the unfair words of criticism simply bounce off. You don’t take them into your mind and heart and you don’t allow them to contaminate your spirit.