Two-by-four

And the whacking over the head continues :p. Tonight's message was about learning to have a righteous response to criticism. And you know what the righteous response was every time? Prayer. Not anger at the person for misjudging you, not defending yourself, not even ignoring the critic. Prayer, plain and simple. Humbling yourself before God and whoever is being critical, getting on your knees, and praying. That I think is probably the hardest, and the most simple response we could be told to have. It forces us to focus on God, the one we should always be focused on anyways.

It's hard, because our pride tells us that we didn't do anything, they must have misunderstood, and so of course we should respond back. Simple because it's one thing to remember. There aren't a tons of steps, or a whole speech to memorize. Just simply talking to God in humility, and asking Him to take care of the situation, in Love.

And that is the key. In your humility, you must also show love for those who have hurt you. The scars will remain, but they do not have to continue to be open wounds. Love those who hurt you, truly love them, and their criticism, whether right or wrong, will be turned from bad, into good. That, I think, is what makes responding righteously good, and beautiful, and hard. But it's not wrong to do hard things. God calls us to that all the time. The easy way out is not an option for Christians. It never has been, and it never will be. so do the hard thing and love those who don't seem to be lovable. Love them with God's love, because  otherwise you fall. Without His help, we are nothing. With His help, we can do all things, even love those who hurt us.