The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. Proverbs 12:15

I was browsing through some Biblical Counseling on-line resources from CCEF when a brief article by Dr. Ed Welch caught my eye.  His premise was listening to our critics.

That got me thinking.

We all have them right?  Critics.

For most of us, our inclination is to avoid our critics. I mean seriously, why would I want to listen to someone tell me what I’m doing wrong?

Truth be told, if we only listen to our cheerleaders, friends, and fans, we have a very skewed view of ourselves.

We all know what it is like to be criticized.

We all know what it is like to feel like our critic is way off base making us feel totally misunderstood.

We tend to get hurt and defensive and we miss the gem buried in the mud, to our detriment. What if instead of focusing on what they got wrong we strain to hear what they got right?

If only 5% of what our critics say is accurate, would it not behoove us to take that 5% and allow it to help us grow and change?

Yes, it takes humility.

Yes, it takes discernment.

Yes, it takes grace.

Yes, it takes a desire to change.

But we can grow and change with the help of our critics.

Blessings, Diane

Diane Hunt serves part-time on the staff of America’s Keswick, providing ministry support from her home in North Carolina. She is also a biblical counselor and women’s event speaker. For more information about having Diane speak at your next event please contact her at dhunt@americaskeswick.org.