I recently posted a resource about giving and taking critique. Today, another helpful article caught my attention. The following link at Ligonier contains a letter written by John Newton, to a correspondent who was about to blast a fellow minister in writing. Newton gives clear, concise, and beautiful advice.
Criticism. Some love it, others hate it. Some people develop a critical spirit from which they routinely dish it out. Others struggle to take it, even when it’s lovingly ministered. There is a kind of criticism which is loving, sensible, and constructive. This kind is a gift of God’s wisdom in grace. There is another kind of criticism which belongs to the fallen world system. It’s unloving, unreasonable, and altogether destructive. (Oh, how many times have I displayed just this kind of critical spirit!) No matter who you are, criticism is a challenging part of life which we must learn…