Humility! The Correct Response To Criticism

S-Scripture:  Numbers 12:3, “Now Moses was more humble than any other person on earth.”  (NLT)

O-Observation:  Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman.  v2, “They said, ‘Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?  Hasn’t He spoken through us, too?’  But the Lord heard them.”  I think it is interesting how jealous we can become of other people.  Here, we have a brother and a sister teaming up together in their displeasure of Moses’ leadership.  In reality, there complaints were not against Moses, they were against the Lord.  This may have been there thought, ‘How could the Lord allow Moses to be our leader, he married a Cushite?’  V2b, “But the Lord heard them.” 

A-Application:  We must be very careful what we say against the Lord’s anointed (Numbers 12:8), not only against the Lord’s anointed, but against all people.  When we speak evil of others, indirectly, we are criticizing the Lord!  Moses responded to his siblings with humility.  The Lord teaches us the importance of being humble, even in the midst of criticism.  When we are kind and humble, it is the Lord who rebukes those who criticize.  We must never take actions into our own hands.  We must turn our hurts, our fears, our disappointments, over to the Lord.

P-Prayer:  Father in heaven, help me to learn from the people of the Bible.  I can think of many people in the Bible who responded to criticism by humbling themselves before You.  Teach me, Lord, that the correct response to criticism is humility.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.