A Soft Answer

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

It is difficult to respond to criticism with love, but that's what we are asked to do. I have found that responding with love, as much as it may benefit the other, will benefit you far more since it's not good to hold on to resentment or other forms of animosity.
 
LearningToLetGo said:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

It is difficult to respond to criticism with love, but that's what we are asked to do. I have found that responding with love, as much as it may benefit the other, will benefit you far more since it's not good to hold on to resentment or other forms of animosity.
Click to expand...
It might be helpful to always keep in mind that man is weak and easily stumbles; knowing this, helps me not get angry at people having their moments.
 
Hello Desiring More Truth;

For years whatever and wherever God had me for a season, I always struggled with criticism, constructive criticism, or "can I be honest?" What was sorely needed in my walk with Christ was more discipling.

It takes a humble heart, humility and practice, practice, practice, and God is faithful. God builds us up in "receiving and especially listening" to criticism instead of "reacting" to criticism.

I'm not saying it works every time and there are those times we need to start over, reset, and go forward in this important discipline.

When we get by a session of criticism we can praise God for not reacting with anger, defensiveness and letting down the guard of our tongue.

The only time I can truly react is when my wife criticises me but that's a given. After 37 years she's good at pushing my buttons. 😎lol!



 
Sometimes at work my boss asks me to explain why I chose to do something in a particular way. My instinct at such time is to feel I am being criticized, however I have learned to be calm and guarded in my response. As a result I have learned that my boss is usually not criticizing me but simply asking a question, and in those times he is criticizing me, about half the time he has a suggestion that actually improves over my choice of action.

Life is funny that way.

Also, and this is important: People enjoy being around people who make them feel happy. Be wary of how you make people feel. If you react defensively then people will quickly treat you offensively. It becomes a nasty feedback loop that is near impossible to break. On the other hand, if you react pleasantly then people will learn to enjoy being with you, will learn to trust you, and it will become progressively easier for everyone.
 
As the head of an investigative unit, I live in a world of Monday-morning quarterbacks. The final decision on how an investigation is concluded falls on me, so any disagreements also come to me, and I am constantly having to justify my decisions.

These disagreements come to be in what we call a Written Exception Request. They come to be from subjects, their lawyers, or their union reps. Our Fiscal Year ended on June 30th and I received a total of 34 Written Exception Request and have only reversed myself once. Being second-guessed is just part of the process and I never take it personally. Well, I just keep it to myself. :)

Rtm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top