"Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they reprove me, it is soothing medicine. Don't let me refuse it. But I am in constant prayer against the wicked & their deeds." Psalm 141:5 NLT
This is the footnote from the Life Application Study Bible:
David says that being rebuked by a godly person is a kindness. Nobody really likes criticism, but everybody can benefit from it when it is given wisely & taken humbly. David suggested how to accept criticism: (1) Don't refuse it. (2) consider it a kindness, & (3) keep quiet (don't fight back). Putting these suggestions into practice will help you control how you react to criticism, making it productive rather than destructive, no matter how it was originally intended.
I must admit that I don't like getting criticism either but sometimes it's necessary to help me get back on the right track or help me from falling off the right track. I don't like giving it either because most people don't "accept" it well even if it's meant to be constructive & helpful. I pray that we all will study this verse & let God speak to us about it.
2 comments:
I was really aweful at taking it! Actually worse.
But I know I am making strides in this area. That whole trying to die to self thing.
I think it all stems from who do we look to for our self image. When we react hurt or mad it's because we haven't FIRST gone to the Lord to find out what he thinks about what was said, and how HE see us.
I was told once to ask God if there is ANY truth in something hurtful someone else has said to me. For when we ask for wisdom it will be given. And often I find that there is something, no matter how small, is truthful. And it DOESN"T mean that person knows everything or is better than me, or is completly right. It DOES mean God is trying to tell me something!
Hard to learn when feelings get in the way!
Thanks for sharing this verse with us!
Good insights Kristina...thanks for sharing them!
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