A good critic is like solid gold.
As a writer, it’s not often I find someone who has the enthusiasm, the know-how, and the concentrated attention necessary to give me the feedback so essential to successful written communication. Bottom line: I cannot succeed on my own. Like my friend Clyde said when I interviewed him for this article, a blind spot means I can’t see it! Someone else has to tell me that it is there.
Reproof. Who loves it? Mostly, it’s a word to send shivers down your back. It can be a terrifying prospect to lay yourself wide open to comment. But it can also be a great benefit, a great joy, and a great relief. (Ah, so that’s what I can change to make this work!)
I wrote this article because I felt like somebody needed to stick up for criticism. It was like a challenging but good friend whom everybody says bad things about…without ever getting to know what he’s really like.
Honestly? I’m still not always a fan of reproof.
But in recent years, I’ve been discovering that God loves to give me praise. In fact, He promises that a woman who fears Him will be praised. I never know how or through whom He’ll do it next! I just know that He’s endlessly creative and utterly faithful in carrying it out. And it’s this assurance, I think, that makes me able to hear, accept, and actually love His reproof.
Elisabeth Adams 