…Making Your Life Count with Dr Humphrey Mutiti
SUCCESS will not be complete without negative criticism. Whether you like it or not, you will come across the speed humps of negative criticism. To excel in life you must conquer the many efforts of others to pull you down.
The truth always outlives a lie. King Solomon substantiates this fact in the book of Proverbs, “The lip of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” (12:19KJV). We thus may boldly say, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do [say about me] unto me.” (Hebrews 13:6 KJV)
Do not let anybody make you feel average without your approval. Ungratefulness and criticism are going to come as part of the price you will pay for swooping past mediocrity. After healing the ten lepers, even Jesus Himself was thanked by only one of them, and yet He was a perfect Man! Do not be astonished by the ungrateful people who are always scrutinizing your life.
If you are progressing, you will be criticised. The only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing and be nothing. Those who get things done necessarily stir up criticism. Those who make things happen always attract critics.
Dennis Wholey warned, “Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.” If you want a place in the sun, you will have to expect some blisters and some sand kicked in your face.
Never judge people by what their enemies say about them. Kenneth Tynan provides the best description of a critic I have ever heard: “A critic is a man who knows the way but cannot drive the car.” They are only good at talking and when you hear them talk, you would think they are angels.
Even when you are much better than they are, they always talk like there is nothing good about you. We are not called to respond to criticism; we are called to respond to progress. If what you say and do is making you progress, it does not make any distinction if every other person on the face of the earth criticizes you. Likewise, if what you are doing is not of good, nothing other people say will make it right.
No matter what you say, critical people will always find a way to bring down the conversation. You cannot remember the last time they gave you a compliment or positive feedback. They tend to scrutinize and nit-pick on every little issue, after which they would harp on it and offer unwanted negative thoughts. If that is not enough, critical people are often ready to discourage you.
Some Facts About Critics.
1. Critical people are jealous of your success. They cannot stand your success. Your success and happiness brings pain to them.
2. Critical people are uninformed. They do not know how many years you have been saving your funds, how you bought your house, your car and how you made it.
3. Critical people make a lot of noise because they are so empty.
4. Critical people do not come with clean hands. They are like a mud thrower who never has no clean hands. They know everyone’s business at their own business expense.
5. Critical people are always busy studying you and they never graduate.
6. Critical people seem to have a filter that blocks out whatever that is good and focuses on the bad. Rather than praise, they seem to only know how to criticize. They always find faults in all your good intentions.
In closing, when you are progressing in life, you will always attract critics. Pay no attention to negative criticism. People that criticise other people are just unhappy about something in their own lives.
Whatever you do, good or bad, people will always have something negative to say. There is only one way to avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing and be nothing.
The author, Dr. Humphrey Mutiti is a Pastor, conference speaker, instructor, and lecturer at Great Commission Theological Institute, an author of several books, has a Ph.D. Doctorate in Theology, a Ph.D. Doctorate in Ministry and a student in the school of law.
