personal reflection about criticisms

1. Sem. Zessicrel D. Mejias Rev. Fr. Martin Lupiba
A.B. Philosophy (Human Relations) February 6, 2017
God is My Judge
To criticize is indeed one of the easiest acts to do here on earth. It is so easy that people
disregard who they criticizing are; what roles are such people playing in the society or what their
statuses are in the society. Even the President is one of the easiest targets of critics, more so the
common people. Criticism became part of the system of this world. It may sound a negative
word yet we can’t deny its positive effects. I believe that criticism exist not to destroy an
individual but to lift him up instead. It is an opportunity for moral; an opportunity to prove that
you’re a mature person by taking it as a compliment and not returning the venom by your own
heat; an opportunity for those people concern to comfort those who are being criticized; and an
opportunity for growth by accepting your flaws and become a better man.
In my 22 years of living in this world, I was criticized countless of times. Some of them
are just criticisms but I often not forget the unjust ones. Three years ago, I worked at a bakeshop.
I was task to clean the kitchen sink then but I found it unjust for my duty time had already ended
and I knew I was not going to be paid for the over-time. Out of respect to our manager, I did the
task and honestly, it was not easy. She wanted me to clean it thoroughly so I did. The day after,
she found the sink still dirty and she called my attention. I just arrived in the shop then and she
started scolding me with words that made me feel useless. It was as if I did not do anything. It
made my eyes wet yet I was controlling it not to burst out. I was not able to reason out for she
did not stop talking and walked out. Knowing that I really cleaned the sink, I investigated what
really happened and I found out that the dirt was caused by some of my co-workers. But despite
knowing the truth, I did not try to justify myself in front of my manager. For what? The damage
has been done. Another incident was when I was assigned in a parish. I had a fever that morning

2. so I decided not to serve the mass and talked to someone who could possibly take my place.
Gladly, I found someone so I took a rest in my room. I felt lonely inside my room which made
me sicker so I went downstairs to mingle with people. Unfortunately, the priest arrived seeing
me doing nothing while he was celebrating the mass and gave communion to hundreds of
students. He was angry and scolded me. I had no time to react for he walked out.
These are just simple bits of the unjust criticisms I experienced in my life time. I will not
mention the complicated ones for I don’t want to remember those anymore. But one thing is
certain to me. I will do my best not to criticize other people unless I know the whole story first. If
his deeds are justifiable then why criticize? If not then I will try to put on his shoes and analyze
what could have I done giving that the same circumstances. Nobody is perfect and each of us has
different stories to tell. To look at a person in your own limited judgment is wrong. What you
think of others may not be the same to what that person thinks of himself. The same with what
you think of yourself may not be the same as what other people think about you. If only all
people will have this principle in them then I believe criticisms could be avoided. But to be more
realistic, this could never happen. What makes a story interesting is when there is a presence of
conflict between characters. So like real life, we need struggles, conflicts, problems, failures, for
us to be truly human who truly lives. Never mind the criticisms as long as they are not true and if
it is true then accept the need to change for the better. As long as your living life righteously I
think you’re okay. Never mind what other people think about you. At the end of the day, what
other people think of you doesn’t matter. It is what God thinks of you that really matters.