Anyone who has ever spoken publicly has likely encountered the most dreaded individual they will ever face...the critic. Let's rephrase that, anyone who has ever lived has likely encountered a critic.
The critic serves up opinion, either good or bad, on what they have just witnessed. The good critic will use the criticism to build up the individual - to coach them to become better. The bad critic only serves to distract, tear down and destroy.
I must admit that I have been on all ends of the criticism. I've given the good and the bad, and I've received the same. So, I suppose that makes me a bit of an expert on the subject, even if it's just a quasi-expert.
This week, I'm going to be tackling the topic of criticism from a number of angles: church critic (Tuesday), family/relationship critic (Wednesday) and political critic (Thursday). Sure, there are a dozen other angles I could have chosen, but these are the ones that interest me, so check back this week to gauge your critical nature.
I'll leave you today with this thought. We all need one type of critic in our lives. We need someone who is caring and compassionate enough to tell us when we're wrong, then will set out to show us the correct ways. We call these people mentors.
What we don't need are people who jump on us, and use what we say or do as a means to destroy us. Their motives vary, but none are positive...all are destructive. Unfortunately, there are far more destructive critics in this world than there are mentors. They're a dime a dozen, and anyone who has ever been in leadership, or public speaking has felt their wrath.
I want to point out one verse that has really helped me deal with negative critics. It's Galatians 1:10. I won't say this is necessarily a life verse, but it has gone a long way toward making me bolder in my approach to leadership and preaching. And, it definitely has helped me gauge my critics better. Plus, with the clock ticking, I really don't have time to waste on destructive critics, and neither do you.
How about you? If you ranked critics on a scale of one to ten, with one being destructive and ten being a mentor, where would you fit?
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