How Should Christians Deal With Critics and Naysayers?
God gave Christians the assignment of sharing the story of His love and spreading the gospel, but in doing so, believers will be confronted with a lot of critics and naysayers who will insist they are wrong.
Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church wrote on his website that Nehemiah is a perfect example of this. He wasn't a pastor or priest, but rather a businessman. During his time, Israel had been taken over by the Babylonians. He was the one who came up with the idea of rebuilding the city and creating a wall to protect it.
"He encountered instant opposition," Warren said. "Israel's enemies didn't want to see Jerusalem defended."
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Nehemiah's enemies did everything they can to keep him from rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. They resorted to ridicule, spreading rumors, and making threats. When these didn't work, they discouraged him.
In the same way, Warren said today's Christians will be confronted with the same bag of tricks just to keep them from doing God's work.
Warren urged Christians to respond the same way Nehemiah did.
"We don't need to fight with naysayers. It's not worth it. Billy Graham once told me you can wrestle with a pig, but only one of you is going to enjoy it. He was correct," he said.
"If you want to go take on people who are negative about what you're doing, you'll just waste your time," he added.
Warren said Nehemiah did not defend himself, and believers need not defend themselves either. All they have to do is let the negativity go and have faith that God's work will eventually be proven correct. "That day will come," he assured.
Earlier, Warren also said that Christians should place more weight on God's words instead of the words of any person. Even though words of warning might have good intentions behind them, Warren said they aren't always correct.
"Anyone who has ever tried to do anything great has always come face-to-face with naysayers. The thing is, naysayers aren't necessarily bad people. They may truly want what's best for you. They may love you," he said. "But they're not God. So don't treat their opinions like you would God's opinions."
