But God took me from the work of shepherding the sheep, and God said to me, "Go, prophesy against my people Israel" (Amos 7:15)
As we grow older, sometimes we become so used to our own ways that we don't want to admit when we are wrong. Worse still, if we don't come face-to-face with other people, we always criticize and try to belittle their views.
For example, there are some people who if they disagree with a pastor, they seem very quick to criticize the pastor's motivation for doing something. they even thought the priest was just looking for a fee.
Amos had this kind of rebuke about 750 B.C.E. At that time the prophet Amos gave a stern warning about God's judgment on Israel. Therefore, it is natural that the message is not liked. A priest at Bethel named Amaziah was annoyed and sent Amos back to Judah. Amaziah accused Amos of being a paid prophet, preaching only for a living (verse 7:12). Amos responded to this statement by saying that he prophesied simply because God asked him to speak (verse 15).
If we are preachers or leaders, we must serve God faithfully as Amos did, even if the task is displeasing, disliked, or rejected by our congregation. And if we are part of a congregation, we have to make sure that when we hear something we don't agree with, we're not actually going against what God wants us to hear and do.
That's how to handle criticism --Albert Lee
DON'T BE FEAR OF CRITICISM IF YOU'RE RIGHT
DON'T IGNORE IT IF YOU'RE WRONG
* Take from Daily Reflections