CRITICS AND CONFIDANTS

There are two kinds of people in your life. 
The first group are people who truly loves you and help you. 
The second group are people who doesn’t like you. 


The first group is your confidant. The second group is your critics. 


You become unhappy in life when you focus to please critics and neglect your confidants. 
The key is this, focus on the first group and invest all you got in them. 
The second group? 
Ignore. Avoid.
That’s the only best way to overcome them. Leave them to the hands of God. 

Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It's obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

Don’t hate them nor even criticize them for soon you will be like them. You can still love them- but from a distance. Your best desire for them is not calamity but enlightenment. 


By the way, here’s a radical truth. You can benefit from both to thrive in life. 
You need confidants to discover your strength. 
You need critics to prove your strength. 
But in any case, both are stepping stones and not hindrances to your journey. 
The bottom line is this - 


It is not how people treat you that defines who you are in life.
It is how you carry yourself with love, kindness, joy and victory regardless of how people treats you.

“The enemy never bothers folks

who are not doing kingdom work.

Sometimes opposition is a

validation of your direction."

- J o n a t h a n  A c u f f

IF WE CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER...WHY ARE WE FOREVER TRYING?

Many times we commit mistakes because of prejudice. Prejudice is judging a person even before you know him or her. Many times, we commit mistakes because we judge based on outward appearance of a person. How many times we mistakenly judge people - leaders, co-workers, celebrity people, churchmates, neighbors?

Here is a little drill that may just surprise you:

Let us imagine for a while that it is time for us to elect a new president of our country or let's say a new pastor for our church, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

Candidate A: It was found out by a investigating committee that he murdered lots of people and he has a mistress. He is irresponsible of his own family. Recently, his son died rebelling against him.

Candidate B: It was also found out by the court that he was a former spy. He schemed the deaths of many. His outward appearance will not appeal to the youth, he is bald, stern and tactless when speaking.

Candidate C: The government sees him as a rebel. He associates with the crooked of the society. He despised religious leaders. He didn't finish college. He was thought as a brawler in one event when he caused a scene outside a church building.

Which of these candidates would be your choice for the office? Before reading the answer below, consider the following Scriptures:

"…The Lord said…’Do not consider his appearance…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart…’…Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment…We don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look…" (I Sam. 16:7b; Jn. 7:24; 2 Cor. 5:16 b)

The answer:

Candidate A is King David.
Candidate B is Apostle Paul.
Candidate C is Jesus Christ.

"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same thing." (Rom. 2:1)

So, if we can't judge the book by its cover...why are we forever trying?

“Don't waste your time

listening to false praise

or distorted criticism.

The praise will go straight to your head and

the criticism will go directly to your heart.

Both will lead you astray and both

will damage the work God

is doing in you and through you."

- U n k n o w n

“Unless you have never been tempted,

don't pass judgment

on someone who has yielded.”

- A r t  R o y  R e m y

“Don't take anything personally.

Nothing others do is because of you.

What others say and do is a projection

of their own reality, their own dream.

When you are immune 

to the opinions and actions of others, 

you won't be the victim

of needless suffering.”

- W r e c k e d