Your emotional health exists on a spectrum. It constantly requires tuning like a guitar. And, like a guitar, you must keep an ear open to whether or not your heart is playing the right notes. But how can you tell if a guitar is out of tune? Does the look of it give it away? Is there anything you could gather from its appearance as to whether or not it is strung correctly and in tune? No. It isn't until the guitar is played that you can hear whether or not the strings are tuned. (Even then, you must be trained to recognize the sound of an appropriately tuned guitar). The same is true for your emotional health. You may look good, but the question is, could you be emotionally out of tune? 

Emotional health is not something that you can determine by appearance. There are very few signs that give away an emotionally unhealthy person. There may be smiles and laughter, and they seem to be, on the surface, emotionally healthy and stable. However, when the strings are strummed, so to speak, a trained ear can quickly identify whether or not the heart is out of tune. There are two ways heartstrings are strummed, and we evaluate the emotional condition of the human heart; praise and criticism from others. When these two things occur, the heart plays a tune, and how the individual responds displays the condition of the heart. 

"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise," says Proverbs 27:21. In the same way that silver and gold are tested to reveal impurity, the heart is tested. Praise, in particular, allows individuals the opportunity to disclose what they believe to be the source of their success. Praise reveals pride. When an individual receives praise, and the response is to boast of personal abilities, especially compared to others, this represents a heart "out of tune." It is the need to compare that demonstrates insecurity of the heart.

The heartstrings are also strummed when you receive criticism. When criticism comes your way, is the response one of defensiveness? The suggestion isn't that you absorb every criticism; the exact opposite. Aim to understand the criticism and objectively decide whether or not it is valid and, if not, dismiss it. An out-of-tune heart wants to immediately strike back. Unfortunately, if your self-worth or value takes a hit every time someone criticizes you, then it is likely that your heart is out of tune. A healthy heart that is in tune plays the note of security and significance found only in the Lord. 

How do you respond to praise and criticism? Listen to the tune played by your heart. Do you immediately boast and compare or deflect and defend, or do you find your sense of security and significance in the Lord?