Silencing Your Critics
Nehemiah 6:16
And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
Nehemiah quickly figured out what most people who are doing something great for God figure out: when you start building something for God, the critics will immediately come out. Nehemiah 4:1 says, But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. It never fails: when God's people do something great, that the enemies come out and begin to criticize. Criticism is simply the loser vilifying the winner, hoping that the winner will stop doing what is causing them to win, so they can become a loser. Certainly, Nehemiah never thought this would happen, but to his credit, he did not allow the critics to stop him from building the wall.
You will find that when you start to build something for God, the critics will come out as cockroaches to criticize what you're doing. However, you cannot allow the critics to stop you from building something great for God. You will always have critics in the Christian life if you're doing something for God. You have to always remember that losers don't criticize losers, but they criticize the winner.
When I became pastor here at the great Maranatha Baptist Church, many people did not believe I could build a church with my philosophy and preaching style. You would think that people would be excited about God working through a church and building a church, but I found, like Nehemiah, that the critics come out and criticize everything you are doing, judging your motives, even though they have never been to the work to see it.
You cannot allow the critics to dictate what you do. The work you are doing is a much greater action than responding to the critics’ criticism. Certainly, it may seem the best thing you can do is to respond to your critics, but if you respond, you will have to come down from the wall that God is having you build, which means that the critic has won in getting you to stop building something great for God.
So, how do we respond to criticism? Nehemiah had the best response to criticism. His response to criticism was to keep on building and finishing what he started. It was the finished work that silenced the critics. It was the finished work that exposed the critics' foolishness. Nehemiah did the right thing by continuing to build the wall and not coming down, because the success of finishing the wall is what made the critic look like a fool.
Success is the greatest way to shut up your enemies. Instead of responding to the critic, keep doing what you're supposed to do. Keep building the work that God has given you to build. Who cares what the critics say; they are not doing anything for God. Keep building your church, close your ears to the voices of the critics, and when your church becomes a growing, thriving church, it will reveal God’s blessings on your life and the foolishness of the critics.
My friend, success is the greatest answer to criticism, but you will never get to success if you quit or stop to answer the critics. Stay on the wall and keep building the work that God has given you to build, and in time, the success of your work will silence all the critics and show them to be fools.
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