Daily Gospel

How should I respond to criticism? How do I evaluate whether it is constructive or destructive?

Proverbs 12:16-18

¹⁶ A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

¹⁷ An honest witness tells the truth; a false witness tells lies.

¹⁸ Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.

If you are criticized, stay calm and don’t lash back. Evaluate whether the criticism is coming from a person with a reputation for truth or lies. Ask yourself if the criticism is meant to heal or hurt.

Ecclesiastes 7:5

⁵ It is better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool!

Measure criticism according to the stature of the person who is giving it.

1 Corinthians 4:3-5

³ What about me? Have I been faithful? Well, it matters very little what you or anyone else thinks. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. ⁴ _ My conscience is clear, but that isn’t what matters. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

⁵ So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful. When the Lord comes, he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due.

Always work to maintain a clear conscience by being honest and trustworthy. This allows you to shrug off criticism you know is unjustified.

1 Peter 4:14

¹⁴ Be happy if you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God will come upon you.

Consider it a privilege to be criticized for your faith in God. God has special blessings for those who patiently endure this kind of criticism.

Proverbs 15:31-32

³¹ If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.

³² If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

We shortchange our future when we reject truthful information about ourselves. Sometimes it’s painful to hear the truth, but it’s worse to carry on without improvement.

How do we administer criticism when we feel it must be given?

John 8:7

⁷ They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!”

Romans 2:1

¹ You may be saying, “What terrible people you have been talking about!” But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things.

Before criticizing another, take an inventory of your own sins and shortcomings so that you can approach the person with understanding and humility.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.

Constructive criticism is always offered in love, to build up. And criticism always should be responded to in love as well.

Romans 14:10

¹⁰ So why do you condemn another Christian^? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God.

James 4:11

¹¹ Don’t speak evil against each other, my dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize each other and condemn each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God’s law. But you are not a judge who can decide whether the law is right or wrong. Your job is to obey it.

Matthew 7:1

¹ “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged.

Constructive criticism should always be a welcome and wholesome gift if given in a spirit of love. But we have no right to give depreciating criticism of another, for that is trying to be a judge over that person, and God alone is our judge.

@Promise from God: Romans 14:18

¹⁸ If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God. And other people will approve of you, too.