Sometimes it is hard to hear criticism...

but that doesn't mean you should shut down and not listen!  There are some times that are rougher than other times...to hear it.  There are some areas that are more sensitive than other areas too.  There are some times when you would rather not hear the criticism.  There are some times...when you really need to hear it!  Some of those times bring tears of embarrassment, anger, defeat, humiliation...you name it.  When the words come from someone who has your best interest at heart...you need to listen...you need to hear!
"He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help."  someone once said.  My take on the quote... "If you are not willing to get involved and help when you voice your criticism...then shut your mouth!"

Our morning devotions came right in the middle of an instance that got some criticism.  It happens!  We started working on the new verse for Kid's Club, Proverbs 1:5, "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:"  The opposite of being wise is being foolish.  Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:  but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
It doesn't matter if we are young or old.  It doesn't matter where we might be to receive wisdom and instruction...home, church, school, meeting, or job.  God puts people in our lives for specific reasons.  He uses them to help us along the way.  He wants His people to point others to His way...and He uses little things in our life...right where we are.  He uses those that are closest to us in private moments in order that we might be more effective in those public moments.
As our devotions came to an end and a conversation took place, I realized that God wanted me to learn something this morning...even after all these years..."You are not wise if you are not taking what you hear and if you are not increasing your learning...even in the mundane things of life.  Hearing requires an action...a response to what you hear.  If you can't do it right at home...then don't expect to do it right anywhere else!"
If we can't accept truth spoken in love (yes, criticism) from someone right in front of us, then how will we accept truth spoken in love found in the Bible from our Heavenly Father above? 
Sad to say...many of us won't...because we don't want to hear the criticism...or the truth about a particular situation in our life...because it makes us uncomfortable and vulnerable...that we have failed somehow...when the only failure we truly experience...is that of not heeding the truth.