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1 Corinthians 4:1-21 · Apostles of Christ
Dealing with Criticism
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Sermon
by James L. Killen
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No one likes criticism. We all like to be liked. But the moment any person ventures out to offer any leadership, or to express any opinion that is not shared by everyone else, or even just to live in any unique or creative way, she or he is likely to be enveloped in a cloud of criticism. Most of us find that a very unhappy experience. After it has happened to us a few times, we are sorely tempted not ever to do or say anything again that would invite criticism. But that would not be the right thing to do. It would cause us to live lives that are both unhappy and indecisive. And, it would leave our critics free to run the world in their own way. If we are going to live satisfying and significant lives, we are going to have to learn to deal with criticism. We may be able to get some practical experience in that by following the example of Paul. He had lots of experience in dealing with criticism.

If we read widely in the writings of Paul, we will realize what a multifaceted person he was. His writings include profound theological reflections on the shape of reality and the way to fullness of life, practical advice about how to live a Christian life in the real world, directions on how to run a church, and expressions of the loving concern of a good pastor for his people. But we will also find quite a lot of argument intended to defend his authority as an apostle, to refute the arguments of those who disagreed with him, and to defend himself against his critics. That is the first thing we can learn from Paul about criticism: that it happens. It comes with being a decisive person. We may as well get ready for it. But we can learn more if we study Paul's response to his critics. Actually, Paul's two letters to the Corinthians are full of conflict and defense against his critics. Paul handles much of this indirectly and diplomatically. Later in the correspondence, the conflict is more obvious - and sometimes it gets pretty rough. But, here in the fourth chapter of First Corinthians, Paul speaks directly to his critics about their criticism. Paul explains the role he plays as he understands it. He plays the role of a servant of Christ. A servant has no authority of his own, but he may exercise a great deal of authority on behalf of the one whom he serves. He represents the risen Christ. And he understands himself as a steward, the trustee, the keeper of God's mysteries, that is the wisdom of God through which we are brought to salvation. He acknowledges that a servant has to be trustworthy. He has to live in such a way that both his master and others can trust him. Paul says that he has done his best to do that. That being the case, he feels that he has both the authority and the responsibility to explain the meaning of the wisdom of God and to give decisive leadership to the church. He has done that. Paul felt that the Corinthian church was in danger of getting off of the track and he felt that it was his responsibility to get it back on. No one ever accused Paul of being shy. Paul spoke out and acted decisively and now, almost 2,000 years later, the world is better off for it.

Paul found that the Corinthians were playing little games. They were all trying to increase their own status in the church and in the community by enhancing their own honor and by cutting others down. They had fallen into comparing their leaders, doing a critical analysis on each of them. That made finding fault into an art. And they were using their criticism as an excuse for not following their leaders.

For their own good, Paul felt that he had to assert himself. He told them that it was not their business to judge him. He was the servant of Christ and so it was Christ who should judge. He said that he had done his best to be trustworthy and that he did not know of anything wrong that he had done. Finally, he said that if he had done anything wrong, that would become apparent in the judgment when Christ will judge us all.

With Paul's experience in mind, let's think about how we ought to deal with criticism.

The first thing we need to do is to find our way into a vital relationship with God. God is that greater reality that is both in and beyond all other realities. God is ultimately the one who counts. It is your relationship with God that ultimately tells you who you are and how you fit into life. The good news of Jesus Christ tells us that God knows each of us, that God forgives our limitedness and wrongness and accepts us as we are, that God loves us, and that God has given us the status of children of God. That is who you are. Start there.

Now notice that the Christian gospel makes a distinction between being right and being okay. Most people are accustomed to thinking that you have to be right to be okay and that if you are okay, then you must be right. God takes a different approach to that. God tells us that we are okay simply because God loves us. Whether or not we are right about things is a separate matter and will be dealt with in a different way. If you can come to know yourself as God knows you, if you can learn to be honest about your limitations and still accept yourself and affirm yourself as you are, if you can know yourself as a child of God, then you will find yourself able to exercise a remarkable freedom when it comes to making decisions and taking necessary actions. There are two important reasons for that.

First, you will be able to disengage from the petty little contests that people get into when personalities rather than issues are in competition. If you know who you are, if you know that you are a child of God, then you will know that your status and your personhood are not in jeopardy. You don't have to prove anything or to win anything for yourself. You can stay focused on the issues and let people say what they will.

The second reason is that you need to be free to ask if you really are right. You need to be able to own your ambivalence, to listen to the sincere opinions of others, and to evaluate the evidence. If you should discover that you have been wrong, you will not be undone. You will still be a beloved child of God.

Once you have entrusted your ego to God's keeping, you can freely give attention to your purpose. Ask what it really is that God wants said or done. The answer to that question will come from two places at once.

It will come from your basic and growing understanding of the Christian gospel and of the purpose of God. You can access that through a daily study of the Christian scriptures and traditions and regular practice of worship and devotional life. We can't just arrogantly assume that we already know all that God knows. Understanding the purpose of God is something that must be sought humbly and diligently.

The other place from which the answer will come is a sensitivity to what is going on in your own life and in the lives of others and in the world around you. As these two come into dialogue within your consideration, you will find yourself becoming convinced that certain things need to be said or done. (You may also find yourself being convinced that some other things might just as well be left unsaid or undone.) But when you come to believe that some things need to be said or done for the good of your family, your church, your community, and your world, then do what you really believe God wants you to do.

It is always good to take a critical look at your convictions before you act on them. One good way of dealing with criticism is to be the first critic. Set your convictions in the context of the Christian faith as a whole and ask if it is really the right thing to do. Sometimes different aspects of the faith will argue with one another. Sometimes Christian compassion will argue with Christian conviction. Talk with others about your conviction. Listen appreciatively to those who disagree. Be honest with yourself about the fact that there are two sides to almost every significant question. Ask if you may be wrong. Be open to the answer that you might get. Ask yourself what is motivating you. Remember that we very seldom act out of pure motives. Ask yourself, "Is it the love that I have learned from God that is motivating me?" Sometimes even the right thing to do is the wrong thing to do until you can do it in love.

When it has become clear to you that, in spite of all arguments to the contrary, God really wants you to say or to do some particular thing that is needed to make a difference, go ahead and act decisively. You will be sorry if you do not. And, the processes by which human life and history are shaped will be impoverished by the lack of your decisive action.

Then be ready for the criticism. People who speak and act in a way that can make a difference will always have to endure criticism. There may be different kinds of criticism. There may be the constructive criticism that comes from the people who see the "down side" of your best actions, the negative aspects of what you propose that you should already have considered. There will be the honest criticism that comes from people who hold contrary opinions as conscientiously as you hold your convictions. There may be petty criticism from jealous people. And there may be vicious criticism that comes from people who believe that what you are saying or doing will somehow be to their disadvantage and will say or do any mean thing they can to discredit you, whether or not it is true. It is not always easy to know which kind of criticism you are receiving.

Some of the most heroic people, in this regard, are those people of high principles who go into politics in the hope of making a difference for the good of all people. They must know when they venture out into that commitment that they will have to endure enormous amounts of criticism. There will be the entirely legitimate criticism of their positions and proposals that will come from members of the other party or from people of equally high principles who have a different idea about how to solve the world's problems. They will know that, in order to be effective, they will have to make some political compromises and that they will have to support some proposals that are part good and part bad. Almost every decisive political action has a "down side" to it. They will have to endure criticism for this, even from their friends and from themselves. But, there are some political groups that have intentionally made a political strategy out of character assassination. They search out every little thing that anyone might not like about a person and publicize it and ridicule it at every opportunity - and they are good at making opportunities - and they don't mind manufacturing derogatory misinformation if they can't find anything else to criticize. This is the really vicious aspect of political life today. Then there are always petty people and "armchair quarterbacks" who enjoy cutting people down and who assume that anyone in politics is fair game. A person who goes into politics knows that he or she is going to have to cope with all of those kinds of criticism. But if people of good conscience and high principles don't pay the price of going into politics, they will abandon the formation of public policy and the making of history to people whose motives are less noble.

To some extent, the same things could be said about a person who goes into such fields as school administration, or law enforcement, or business administration, or even leadership in a civic club or the P.T.A. (It can be said of anyone who goes into the ministry, too.) Dealing with criticism is part of the price a person must pay for any kind of active citizenship and for any kind of decisive Christian discipleship.

When the criticism comes, remember that you are standing before God and not before the critics. You are acting in obedience to what you believe to be the will of God. You are acting out of motives that you believe God has generated with you. You will count on the judgment of God to determine whether you were right or wrong.

Deal as kindly as you can with your critics. Appreciate those who intend to offer constructive criticism. Respect those who honestly disagree. Be ready to do combat with those who are opposing you because of some vested interest of their own, but try not to be drawn into the combat in a way that will make you as mean as they are. If you do that, ultimately, you will lose and meanness will be the winner. Try not to be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).

Be ready to pay the price for decisive action. On the night before he died, Jesus told his disciples many things to prepare them to carry on the work that they had begun together. Among those things was the warning that they would encounter opposition and hatred. He said, "If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world - therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19). Be ready for abuse. It comes with the territory.

Remember that unless some are willing to pay the price of taking decisive action, history will stagnate or be taken captive by those who are willing to pay the price. Unless we, who are committed to the loving purpose of God, are willing to pay the price of acting in the service of that purpose, then there will be those who will pay the price of acting in hate or in greed or even in indifference. It can be a lonely and uncertain and costly thing to speak up or to step out and to act decisively. But we have to believe that the ultimate judge of our actions is that one who presently stands shrouded in mystery - but who holds the future in divine hands. Stand before that judge and do what you believe is right.

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays: In Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany From Expectancy to Remembrance , by James L. Killen