Criticism is something that all of us have to deal with. Even great leaders in the Bible, like Nehemiah, had to deal with criticism constantly. Nehemiah prayed in Nehemiah 4:4, “Hear us, O our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads . . .” (Nehemiah 4:4 NLT)

Nehemiah had to listen to continuous criticism from two men named Sanballat and Tobiah. These men were very angry that Nehemiah was leading the people of God to rebuild the city’s walls. They were constantly harassing and threatening Nehemiah and the other Israelites.

Have you ever experienced negative and/or critical people in your life? Criticism from others is something very difficult to deal with. Critical and mocking words hurt and discourage us. Children sometimes say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That’s just not true. Critical words and mocking actions do hurt, and can be devastating and overwhelming to us. Heather Whitestone overcame tremendous obstacles, including deafness, to become “Miss America.” She once said, “Negative, critical thinking is our country’s greatest disability.”

Everyone experiences criticism – and our ability to handle criticism oftentimes “makes us” or “breaks us” in life. We can either allow criticism to inspire us or immobilize us.

John Maxwell in his book, Becoming People Persons, lists ten keys for overcoming criticism. They are:

1. Understand the difference between Constructive and Destructive criticism. When we receive criticism, we need to ask ourselves, was the criticism intended to be positive to build us up, or to be negative to tear us down? If the critic’s attitude is kind, we can be fairly sure the criticism is meant to be constructive. However, if the criticism is done publicly, or it is a result of personal hurt or frustration, the criticism was probably meant to be destructive.
2. Don’t take yourself too seriously. We need to develop the ability to laugh at ourselves.
3. Look beyond the criticism and see the critic. Criticism from a positive, godly person deserves our attention, but criticism from a complainer or ungodly person doesn’t warrant much attention.
4. Watch your own attitude toward the critic. A negative attitude towards criticism can be more destructive than the criticism itself.
5. Realize that good people get criticized. Jesus was criticized severely, and if our lives are Christ-like, we will be criticized as well (Matthew 5:10-12, John 15:19, 2 Timothy 3:12).
6. Keep physically and spiritually in shape. Physical exhaustion has a tremendous effect on the way we act and react, especially the way we react to criticism.
7. See if there is a crowd rather than just one critic. If we hear criticism from different people who are reliable individuals, we need to address that criticism. But if we are dealing with a small group of people or only negative people, our challenge is not to be affected by them.
8. Wait for time to prove your critics wrong.
9. Surround yourself with positive people.
10. Concentrate on your mission – and change your mistakes. Most people do exactly the opposite. They change their “mission in life” and concentrate on their mistakes. If we run from our tasks every time we make a mistake, we will never accomplish anything. Instead of dwelling on our mistakes, we should learn from them and move past them. Instead of letting our mistakes become roadblocks, we should allow them to become building blocks for building a stronger life.

Nehemiah and the Israelites were able to overcome the criticisms, taunts and threats of Sanballat, Tobiah and of others, and accomplish a great work for God. We can do the same when we are focused on the Lord and His mission for our lives.