From the Pastor’s Desk

A father and his son once went to the market with a donkey. The father sat on the donkey and the boy walked. Onlookers said, “Look at that big strong man sitting on the donkey’s back, and the poor boy has to walk.”

The father got off the donkey, and the boy got on. People said, “How terrible, this poor man walking and the boy sitting on the donkey.” The father and son got on the donkey’s back, but people said, “The poor donkey! Two people sitting on his back–that’s terrible.”
Then the father and son got off the donkey. People said, “How crazy, the donkey has nothing on his back, and two people are walking.”

Later, people were astonished to see the father and son carrying the donkey!

Most people try to avoid criticism. But efforts to avoid criticism can be futile. The father and his son were minding their own business, doing what they thought was right. When people criticized them, the father and son caved in to the criticism and tried to please everyone. They ended up looking like something they were not. They looked like a donkey.

While the story is farfetched, it does make a point. We can be too sensitive to potential criticism of our Christian walk. A difference can develop between the beliefs we profess and the way we act. Our beliefs should be reflected in our words and actions each day. Are they?

Yes, we can be targets of criticism. Isaiah wrote, ” Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: ” (Is59:15).

But the only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. I don’t know anyone who wants to be a “nothing.” If others are critical because we are faithful to the Truth, so be it. There are far worse reasons to be criticized.