Oh those critics!
“In assessing Billy’s approach to handling criticism, Lon Allison observed, “his seemingly preferred mode is to go directly to the people causing him the most pain and basically say, ‘Teach me.’” _Harold Myra & Marshall Shelley, The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham
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Growing and becoming better always involves rebuke and criticism but boy, can it be tough to receive it!
Sometimes failure is easier to take because at least with failure it is something we do.
But rebuke and criticism?
That’s something others do…to us! And benefiting from it requires humility and being teachable. But the reality is, if we can’t handle rebuke and criticism we will greatly stymie and eventually stop our growth and progress in life.
So it seems to me we have three options:
- We can seek to insulate ourselves from our critics by ignoring them or pretending they do not exist.
- We can take the rebukes and criticisms when they comes.
- We can actively seek out critics and say, “Teach me.”
The ONE THING for today: Whether it is friend or foe, a good question that should often be on our lips is: “Teach me?”