Have you experienced criticism? Have you been unduly criticized for doing something you knew to be right? How did you feel? Were you able to defend yourself? Were you able to convince those who criticized you that you were right in doing what you did?
Being criticized by others can make us feel small, inadequate, and unappreciated. However, when we are certain we are right, it can make us feel frustrated, angry, and even vengeful. We may want to strike back, proving we were right by whatever means possible.
The Apostle Peter was criticized for doing what God had told him to do. The Jewish Christians in Jerusalem asked him, in our modern language, “What were you thinking?” Their perspective was that God was only the God of the Jews. That meant that Jesus came only for the Jews as well. They thought the mission was to convince all Jews to accept Jesus as their Messiah.
Peter had spent three years with Jesus. He knew what Jesus had taught and the mission He had sent the disciples on. Peter also had received a vision from God. He had properly interpreted the vision with the help of the Holy Spirit, which he had received at Pentecost. Peter knew exactly what he had to do when three men came knocking on his door.
But Peter did not get angry at those who were critical of him. Rather than being angry, Peter patiently explained what happened. He described his vision. He even pointed out his own initial perspective concerning the eating of unclean foods in the vision. He explained that he had also once thought the way the other Jewish Christians had thought.
We will finish this story in tomorrow’s devotional.
I pray we all stay calm when we are criticized. I pray we stand our ground when we know we are right. I pray each one of us will patiently explain how God is working in our lives. Stay calm. Do not be angry. Stand on God’s Word. Be patient with others. Explain how God is working.
Acts 11:1-3 Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
Marty Pressey 