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Dealing with Criticism

We had not been in the ministry very long until I encountered that bane of the ministry—criticism by church members. I had grown up in a loving family who respected the church, even though we did not always attend regularly. Ministers were appreciated and esteemed, never criticized. What a shock it was to discover, as a young pastor’s wife, that I was not pleasing some people attending the church.

Critics fall into two categories: those who are right and those who are wrong. In either case, God’s Word can help us handle criticism. Early in the ministry I had to learn to deal with criticism appropriately and later wrote about the lesson learned:

“This habit of depending on God’s Word began one of those nights when I could not sleep because of something that had been said to me at church. Glassy-eyed, I crawled out of bed near midnight, curled up on the sofa and began aimlessly reading Scriptures.

Forcefully, the prophet Isaiah spoke to me, “‘No weapon forged against you shall prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and this is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord” (Isaiah 54:17).

That night I learned an enduring principle. Thoughtless words of people must be weighed against the timeless Word of God.” *

This was the first but not the last time I encountered criticism. The principle of weighing criticism in the light of God’s Word helped me through many tough places.

Musgrove, Peggy, Musings of a Maraschino Cherry,* ACW Press, 2004, page 20.

Prayer for this week:

Lord, this week I plan to give You my best, knowing I may make mistakes for which I can be criticized. Some things I do will not please some people. Help me to be so secure in Your love I can apologize for my mistakes and forgive those who criticize me unjustly, even as You forgave those who opposed You.