Taking Criticisms from Hypocrites

As I was packing my room this morning, a small piece of paper fell out from a note book. It reads,

“There will always be someone who will show you how good they are, and how stupid you are… But if these people are out in the real world, I tell you, ‘they won’t last until 4 pm!’”

photo: PennState library

No, it’s not one of those quirky quotes you get from a fortune cookie when you eat in a Chinese restaurant in the US. Rather, it was in my own handwriting. I remember scribbling these words down on a piece of paper during one of the econometric classes I attended during my sabbatical in Penn State. At the start of one of the lessons, the professor warned his students of the perils awaiting them in the academia world. In particular, he related an incident which happened to him on the first day he joined the university. I don’t have to elaborate but I am sure you can imagine the scene, and most probably, have encountered it yourself.

According to Charles Swindoll, some people just have a ‘gift of criticism’. They are amazing! They can tell you three things wrong with your life each week. And they faithfully carry out the exercise of their gifting! They are quick to censure the faults of others. But not aware of their own faults, they are unfit to help to reform others. “Isn’t it absurd to be so quick-sighted as to pick up small faults in others, when they themselves can’t perceive their own faults?” Hypocrites, as Jesus taught his disciples,

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“Why quibble about the speck in someone else’s eyes – his little fault – when a plank is in your own?”

So, how do we respond to criticisms that come our way? .

Perhaps, it is worthwhile to remember the following:

If someone belittles you, he is only trying to cut you down to his size. The bible says the devil is the accuser of the brethren.

You can always tell a failure by the way he criticizes success. Small minds are the first to condemn great ideas. Those who can – do. Those who can’t – criticize. Those who complain about the way the ball bounces are often the ones who dropped it.

Fear of criticism is the kiss of death in the courtship of achievements. If you are afraid of criticism, you’ll die doing nothing. A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.


source: J.L. Mason "Enemy called Average"