April 1st - The Critic

The story...

What's true about that acute or overt criticism that I receive?  A wise person told me that criticism often has an element of truth in it - the wise man values criticism for what he might discover.  The "feedback" may be a truth, or perception, that we aren't aware of or have minimized.  Honest awareness and consideration of faults, or perceptions, can be like the value of a fine pearl.  You must work to open the shell, take it out, assess the value, and then decide what to do with it.

It's likely harder for a person, who has deep-felt emotions, such as shame and guilt, to truly listen.  It's easier to criticize the message sender and discredit the message than honestly considering it's validity.  

I wish I'd never criticized a preacher - especially in front of my children.  Rather, I wish I'd have developed closer relationships with them so that we both might've grown together - even through infrequent constructive criticism.

I expect the only church in town would have preachers and leaders who model wise behavior.  For me, being open to receiving criticism is part of continual growth in both me and my relationships too - pearls. 

Just for today...

"The contented, well adjusted person has no need to look for flaws in others . . . criticism has the effect of pushing love right out of the picture. This in turn, leads us to feeling sorry for ourselves because people do not respond to us as we would like them to."  One Day at a Time (p. 92)