Coping with Criticism - Part 1

I've owned a copy of The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible for several years, but only recently discovered some great supplemental materials in the back of the book. In the "Study Helps" section I found a resource called "Coping with Criticism."

We all receive criticism in one form or another in our lives. The danger is that often upon receiving it our reactions take us into one of two ditches: (1) We ingest the criticism such that it defines who we are and we develop a fear of man, or (2) we fully reject the criticism and tumble into the ditch of pride. Instead we need to travel the rode of humility, believing that we are accepted, loved, and defined by Christ, while acknowledging that our sanctification will take a lifetime and criticism can lead to self-examination and godly change.

Over the next few posts, I will share the advice offered by the essay in my study Bible. Here is the first item:

First, consider criticism inevitable. If you're living as a Christian in a hostile world that hates what you believe, you can't escape criticism. Jesus said that the world will hate us even as it hated Him (John 15:18; 1 John 3:1). He added in Luke 6:26, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you."

We'll look at a couple more tomorrow.