What I learned from a tabloid

Walking by the tabloids in the grocery store the other day, a thought struck me. President Bush graced the cover of the most famous(or should I say infamous)tabloid for the umpteenth time. Here's the thought: If Pres. Bush spent all of his time defending himself every time someone through garbage at him, he wouldn't have any time to run the country. If he let all the junk constantly distact him he would lose his effectiveness. If he spent all, or most, of his time worrying about his critics he wouldn't have time for anything else. OK, get my point?
So what about you and me?
That same week I had a week where I got my fair share of garbage thrown at me. So how am I going to react? How are you? The ONLY way to never have any critics, to never get any insults thrown your way, is to do absolutely NOTHING. If your trying to accomplish anything at all, especially if it's for God, you ARE going to have your critics. I believe the difference is in how you choose to react.
Peter is one of my heroes. Ya I know he stuck his foot in his mouth, ALOT. And I've heard alot of preachers bash him over the years. But I tend to look at things a little differently. Let's look at the famous Bible story of when Jesus walked on water. Who was willing to get out of the boat? Peter. What were the other disciples doing? They were in the boat too. But Peter was the ONLY one brave enough step out on faith. Ya I know he sunk, I know he 'failed'. But I don't think he did. Did Peter have his ctritics? Absolutley. Still does. But at least he was doing something. At least he was chasing after God.
So again, what about us? God has been working HUGE in my life when it comes to being able to seperate the valid and invalid criticism. Proverbs says that only a fool will not accept criticism. But also it is foolish to waste your productive time on non-productive things. So where's the balance? Good question.