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So You Were
Criticized
March 23, 2003
We
all live with criticism. Anyone before the public will be criticized.
It comes with the territory. It takes very little intelligence to find
fault and criticize. Some criticism is justified and some is
constructive.
Teddy
Roosevelt once said, "It is
not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong
man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face
is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who
errs, and comes short again and again, because there is not effort
without error and shortcoming; but who does actually try to do the
deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who
spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the
triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be
with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
I love Teddy Roosevelt!
Don't
misunderstand. Criticism hurts... always hurts, but go on with what
you know is what God wants you to do and be. If the criticism is
justified then make the correction. If the criticism is unjust and out
of order, then rise above it and go on with your good work. Remember,
"It is easier to preach a sermon than to live one."
[Doug Post]
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Intruders
By
Dale Hubbert
A
special family reunion took place last week in Utah. Elizabeth Smart was
reunited with her family after being abducted from her home nine months
ago. Words are not capable of expressing the joy her family is
experiencing.Those responsible for taking this teenager against her will
have been taken into custody. Our judicial system should punish them
severely if they are indeed found to be guilty of these crimes.
Some
spiritual thoughts are worthy of consideration in light of these
developments. A parent’s nightmare became real when an intruder stole
their child. Day after day and night after night the horror of a lost
child was a reality.
No
right thinking parent would befriend or invite such a person into their
home. Yet some invite an even more dangerous intruder into our homes and
they are stealing our children’s minds and affections. Television,
radio, internet, and video games are all places where Satan walks freely
into the homes and lives of our children.
The
worst part is that we without proper supervision and monitoring have
invited this kidnapper into our homes and have given by default
permission to defile and corrupt the minds and hearts of our most
precious gifts.
Before we volunteer to sit on the jury of Elizabeth Smart’s kidnappers
and pronounce a sentence of life without parole may we assess our own
responsibility in allowing our children to live in houses where dangers
abound and the chambers are unlocked. "Lo
children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his
reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children
of the youth" (Psalm 127:3-4).
[Amen! Dale is a
preacher friend of mine from Curry, Alabama]
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Cannibals at the
Office
Several
cannibals were recently hired by a big corporation. "You are all part of our team now," said the Human Resources rep
during the welcoming briefing. "You
get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for
something to eat, but please do not eat any of the other employees."
And the cannibals promised.
Four weeks later the boss remarked, "You're
all working very hard and I'm satisfied with you. However, one of our
employees has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?"
The cannibals are shook their heads no.
After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals said to
the others, "Which one of you idiots ate the employee?" A hand raised
hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, "You
fool! For four weeks we've been eating managers and no one noticed
anything, but noooooooooo, you had to go and eat the secretary!"
[Yuma, Arizona COC, Bulletin).
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Memory Verse
“Examine
yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do
you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless
indeed you are disqualified”
(2 Corinthians 13:5).
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Prodigal
Son in Key of "F"
Feeling
footloose and frisky, a featherbrained fellow
forced his fond father to fork over his farthings. He flew
far to foreign fields and frittered his fortune, feasting
fabulously with faithless friends.
Finally facing famine and fleeced by his fellows-in-folly,
he found himself a feed flinger in a filthy farmyard.
Fairly famished, he fain would have filled his frame with
foraged food from the fodder fragments.
"Fooey, my father's flunkies fare far fancier," the
frazzled fugitive fumed feverishly, frankly facing facts.
Frustrated by failure and filled with foreboding, he fled
forthwith to his family. Falling at his father's feet, he
floundered forlornly, "Father, I have flunked and
fruitlessly forfeited family favor."
But the faithful father, forestalling further flinching,
frantically flagged the flunkies to fetch forth the finest
fatling and fix a feast.
The fugitive's fraternal faultfinder frowned on the fickle
forgiveness of former folderol. His fury flashed, but
fussing was futile.
The farsighted father figured, "Such filial fidelity is
fine, but what forbids fervent festivity for the fugitive
is found. Unfurl the flags with flaring, let fun and
frolic freely flow. Former failure is forgotten, folly
forsaken. Forgiveness forms the foundation for future
fortune." [Bulletin, Falls Church, COC]
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