Critical Masses

Read Psalms 141:1–144:15

1. O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help!
2. Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.
3. Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.
4. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong.
5. Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked and their deeds.
6. When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.
7. Like rocks brought up by a plow, the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial.
8. I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord. You are my refuge. Psalm 141:1-8

When was the last time someone criticized you? How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What leftover conflicts has it created? Most people find criticism difficult to take, even when it’s given by someone who knows what he or she is talking about.

As he does in many of his psalms, in Psalm 141 David talks to God about his many enemies. As you read, you will see that David knows he can dismiss his enemies’ accusations, taunts, and lies. There is one type of criticism, however, that he cannot discount.

David provides other lessons on prayer in this reading as well: how to pray whenever you are overwhelmed or desperate (Psalm 142); how to pray whenever you feel hopeless or depressed (Psalm 143); and how to pray when you are hemmed in or outnumbered by unbelievers (Psalm 144).

David said that being corrected by a righteous person would be doing him a favor (Psalm 141:5). He knew that though no one really likes to hear criticism, everyone can benefit from the kind that makes good points, but only if the criticism is taken with humility. According to David we should take these three steps to accept well-given and well-placed criticism: (1) don’t refuse it, (2) consider it a kindness, and (3) keep quiet (don’t fight back).

The next time critics target you, put these suggestions into practice. They’ll help you control how you react, making your response productive rather than destructive, no matter what the motives behind the critique.