Be Careful How You Hear

In Luke 8:18 Jesus warned: “Be careful how you hear.” Criticism is not an add-on, aftermarket option for those of us in ministry. It will come. Sometimes like an avalanche, other times like the trickle of a Chinese torture chamber. The question for us is how we hear it. 

Sometimes we need to hear and change: That change may be one I’ve known I needed to make, or a reminder of something I’m trying to change, or something I’d never even considered. 

Sometimes we need to hear and then discard it: Not all criticism weighs the same and not all valid criticism MUST be addressed. Much criticism is simply drama dressed in a suit and tie. We waste too much time on drama.

Sometimes we need to hear it and consider the source: Yes, that does not determine the truth of it, but it might determine more of the weight of it. Miss Mable was one of my favorite people. She was in her 80’s but as feisty as a teenager when I got to know her. She would mow her yard in a dress and high-heels because "women shouldn’t go out in public not dressed nice." EVERY week, EVERY week for roughly 10 years she would correct something about my sermons. I loved Mable and she loved me. But I’ve had people who didn’t love me who seemed to thrive at correcting me - those critics eventually go unheard. I’m not a sadist. My dear friend Kathy once told me: “Close your eyes, picture Bill, now imagine a pair of great big clown shoes and a big red rubber nose.” Trust me it helps. From that point on, anytime Bill headed my way, I chucked and my blood-pressure did not go up. 

“Be careful how you hear.” Hear this. Jesus loves you. Many more of His People love you than don’t love you. We are thankful for you. Your voice, your work matters.