Megachurch, megamessage...

Watched Joel Osteen this morning, the charming pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, the megachurch of megachurches. I don't normally watch pastors on TV, but something about his message shook me. "How to handle criticism" was the message, and it was something I needed to hear.

"Not everybody is going to be your cheerleader," Osteen said. "You have to learn how to shake it off."

He quoted a verse from Matthew (sorry I couldn't remember the exact verse or phrasing), but basically it said "If you are in a place where you encounter criticism, shake the dust off your feet when you leave."

It's a simple concept, but I needed to hear something like this at this time in my life. I'm trying to make something of myself and everywhere I turn I hear people judging me or saying I can't do it. I hear people say, "Oh, that's difficult, are you sure you are up for it?"

I got the perfect approach from Osteen today. He said: "No matter what you do or don't do, somebody is going to be critical. So you might as well do what you need to do and let God handle the critics."

Amen!