Matters Of Judgment And Criticism

How can one triumph over judgment and criticism including God's judgment? How can one experience freedom from the fears that imprison many? How can one smile in the face of destructive and constructive criticism and judgment that touches the truth of one's life and personality? The effective answer is through self-judgment. Sincere self-judgment is the way out of judgment, both the judgment of God, judgment of men, constructive and unconstructive criticism. It does not necessarily eliminate these, but it does empower and position one to be ahead of them. People who grasp at every straw in an attempt to defend themselves will surely explain away their own salvation. But those who have humbly learned to judge themselves, as the bible proclaimed will face no unexpected fearful judgment.

One of the greatest things you can learn in life is the act of sincere and regular self-judgment. You could also refer to it as self-audit. The bible is very emphatic about the benefit: 'For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.' (1 Corinthians 11:32). The reason many would come under severe judgment is simply because they have failed to sincerely evaluate themselves. It is also the reason why many are swept off by what they refer to as destructive criticism. When you audit yourself and sincerely acknowledge and note the lapses, you're empowered to face any sudden judgment or unexpected criticism.

Elisha would have been thrown off-balance by those who came to tell him about his odds, but he was not affected because he was already aware of it before them. His response to them has inspired me so much over the years: 'I know keep quiet'. How can you discourage, destroy or weaken a man of such personality who sincerely knows his odds? John Mason said, 'Know your limits and ignore them'. There is so much power in it. I faced so much criticism growing up, and it was such a problem until I learned these tactics. The critics lost their power because I already knew what they will say. Many people feel so bad to see their exam results not coming so good as if they will give a better grade if they're the examiner.

We live in a society where many are completely blind to their own shortcomings. They are so proud that they won't want their wrongs to stare at them. When it comes to judging others, they are such great analysts but painfully they have failed to look at the mirror with the same energy and intelligence. I am not telling you not to judge or criticize others, I only want you to know that doing the same to yourself offers you greater value and profits. And you need to leverage such a high-yielding exercise to pilot your life in a greater way. It doesn't matter how many sycophants that are around you, you will never attain God's height if you have not learned to tell yourself the truth about yourself independent of anybody's opinion. It is a sure path to overcoming criticism.

When Jesus asked who people think he was, he had absolutely no doubt of who he was. He was not asking for validation. Don't live your life putting on a mask to hide your true self and gain the vain glory of men. Don't develop faulty self-esteem and confidence that is based on a lie. Discovering and acknowledging the truth will offer you far greater benefit and make you such a bold person that many will be marveled at your audacity. Don't base your esteem on the wrong premises, judgment is coming. And judgment days are a very terrible period for those who live a lie. 'Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you'unless, of course, you fail the test?' (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Everyone loves validation. The problem used to be a lack of it, but today it is tending to be too much of it. But in either case, the man who has learned to judge himself rules his world. He is neither misled by undue praise nor demoralized by critical voices. He knows himself so much that your opinion has little or no power over him. He is a master! He has played the role of prosecutor, defense counsel, and judge to himself, he knows the likely positions of each in his cases. Learn to tell yourself the truth about yourself, nobody can actually do it better for you. When you learn to truthfully judge yourself, you will live your life here on earth as a true master, and independent of people's opinions. Unfortunately, if you lack knowledge and God's wisdom, you're also likely to judge yourself and others wrongly. The good news is that you can bridge the gap.