"Responding To Critics"

Scripture: 1 Samuel 10:27

Have you ever noticed that our ears are not designed to open and close?  They are always open.  Not like the mouth.  The mouth is designed so that it can open and close.  Could it be that God designed our ears the way they are so that we would always be open to listening and that he designed our mouth so that we can open it sometime and close it at others?

After Saul had been made King of Israel, there were those who did not want him.  He had his followers but he also had those who were "good-for-nothing people" according to God's Word Translation.  They were all about criticizing.  Even though Saul was an ungodly King, he demonstrates something that Godly people should practice more often....."he didn't respond". 

One of the hardest things to do is to close our mouth when others are criticizing us.  It is equally as challenging to close our mouth when people hurt and seem to take advantage of us.   We feel the need to respond and defend ourselves.  Christian character demands that we know when to open our mouth and when to keep it closed.  The best approach is to open the mouth only after you have listened well.  Don't open the mouth immediately upon hearing.  Wait until you have listened.  

All criticism is not bad.   In the word "criticism" lies the word "critique."  Learn to listen to the critique of your critics before responding.  God left our ears open for a reason.  Examine your life and see how much trouble your ears have gotten you into.  Then conduct an examination to see how much trouble the mouth has caused.  There are only a few good examples that Saul left for us.  This is one of them.