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I’m going to guess that I’m not alone in this: I don’t like when people criticize me. 

Especially when I’m in a leadership position, trying my best to make good decision for the entire organization, and someone comes up to me to criticize my decision-making abilities or my skill at carrying out my decisions. 

The easiest thing to do is simply dismiss their biting remarks. We can so easily say, “They have no idea what they’re talking about so I can ignore everything they’ve said to me.” 

Criticism is one of the most common bites that sheep dispense to those who are trying to shepherd them. 

But before we simply dismiss them, let me ask you to consider this: 

• Is it possible that God is using these critics to get your attention? 
• Is it possible that you have a flaw in a blind spot, and this critic is showing you something that you’ve been missing? 

If you can answer, “Yes” to even one of those questions, then you can also say that your critic is a God-sent gift for you to improve your leadership capacity. 

I discussed this recently on the Fellowship of Ailbe podcast.

The full quote from Dick Brogden’s book Proverbs: Amplified and Applied says: “Critics and skeptics are gifts to us, for in their aspersions they often bring to light a brokenness or a liability early on in its development in us. If we are secure enough to ferret out the truth through the condemnation of others, we remain healthy in the long term as our malady is exposed and dealt with before it becomes too serious.” 

This means that criticism should lead us to a time of honest introspection.

In the chapter “Is God Trying to Get My Attention?” in my book When Sheep Bite, I wrote—

      Remember that we are naturally self-protective, so this time of introspection will need to be supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit if we are going to see the true prompter of the attack. A prayer I have prayed more times than I can count is, “Search me thoroughly, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24 AMPC). 

      It is only this humble reflection that can turn an experience into a lesson. If I immediately lash out at the sheep who hurt me, I may drive that sheep away from me but I won’t necessarily have learned a lesson. The one who bit me may have left my pasture, but perhaps they will never join any other pasture but may wander in the wilderness for the rest of their life. If I slow down to respond, it’s quite possible that both these biting sheep and I can grow through this valuable lesson. 

Let’e reframe the way we think about critics and their criticism. Before we simply dismiss it, let’s prayerfully consider if there is a lesson that God is trying to teach to us through this critic. 

You can check out the full conversation I had on the Ailbe podcast here. 

You can order a copy of When Sheep Bite here.

And you may be interested in two related blog posts: 20 helpful thoughts on criticism and What is valid criticism?

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