Flipping Stones of Criticism

Recently, I was contemplating criticism. No one (this is my unofficial poll) enjoys criticism. We hate being told what we are doing wrong. And in and of itself, criticism is not necessarily a terrible thing. In fact, it helps us to move forward and learn and grow. The issue that I have with criticism is this. I go looking for it. I don't know exactly why I do this, but I want to know what the issues that everyone has are and I want to fix them. And in the process of desiring something that I perceive as good, I end up burning myself in several ways.

I want people to input into what is happening. But I already get enough criticism that I don't need to go turning over rocks to find more criticism. As I have already said, no one really enjoys that.

When I was little, I would go to the local pond and flip over rocks in the small pond that was there to catch whatever was underneath the rocks. Usually, I found Crawdad, small fish, large alligators (not really) but every once in awhile, I would try and grab whatever was under the rock before examining it. And often, I got nipped by something that was not very nice. Crawdads hurt when they bite.

While I think that I will continue to turn over rocks trying to help people, I must be careful not to reach for whatever is under them until I have surveyed the situation.

God, give me wisdom and knowledge when criticism comes my way in life.

Amen.