In The Last Lecture, Professor Randy Pausch described a particularly bad day when his hardnosed football coach yelled at him and made him do push-ups for messing up some moves. Afterward, an assistant coach helped Randy put his bad practice in perspective. “Coach Graham worked you pretty hard, didn’t he?” the coach asked. Then he continued, “That’s a good thing. When you’re messing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.”
Being berated by a boss is one of life’s most painful experiences, which is why Randy remembered it when he wrote his memoir. We instinctively duck and deflect, focusing on their anger issues rather than whether there is any truth in what they’re saying. How dare they treat me like that! we fume. Yet we miss an opportunity to consider their criticism and grow as a person.
Nobody likes to be told they’re doing something wrong, but it’s the only way we ever improve. Regardless of motives or manners, our critics can be our friends. So rather than defend ourselves by pointing out a critic’s flaws, we must consider the possibility that elements of the criticism we received could be true. If we determine that we have been lazy, careless, or unkind, we must repent. We can pray, “Lord, I’m sorry for my sin. I was wrong and out of line. Yet today, with Your help, I choose to be diligent, disciplined, and to value the feelings of others more than myself.”
God accepts us just as we are, but He loves us too much to allow us to stay that way. He challenges us in areas that need improvement, and sometimes He uses our critics to get His point across. Take heart when you receive valuable criticism, for though it means you messed up, it also means God still believes in you.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Hebrews 12:1-13
More:
Read Hebrews 12:1-12 to learn why confrontation is a sign of God’s love.
Next:
What criticism do you need to reconsider? How can you determine which aspects are true? What is good criticism and what is bad criticism?
conmeo on December 19, 2011 at 12:45 am
Thank you Mike well said. I wish those close to me would have confronted me before I lost everything
mike wittmer on December 19, 2011 at 4:47 pm
conmeo:
I think that confrontation is scary, so we either do it not well or not at all. I’m sorry to hear of your loss, and I pray that you will experience God’s help–and others–in your rebuilding project.
conmeo on December 19, 2011 at 9:59 pm
May God Blessyou And all at ODj. You. Have helped me for years. Pray for me a sinne
Bill on December 20, 2011 at 10:31 am
Thank you for this message. I have fallen in sin over the last week. I know that my relationship with God should be first. Please pray that God will give me the strength when satan is throwing arrows at me.
winn collier on December 20, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Having another friend look me in the eye and call me out is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given.