Don't Shoot the Messenger

Reading Jeremiah has reminded me how much people in the Bible hate truth-telling prophets. It's not just Jeremiah. All over the Bible there are evil kings doing evil things, and they would much rather hear happy lies of the good that will come to them than the truth about their imminent demise. And so they persecute the bearers of bad news, as if it's the prophet's fault bad things are going to happen.

But then I think, how well do I take a convicting word? I mean, really...the bad prophecies are generally a result of the evil person's sin. No one wants to hear they'll be dying, or that everything they have will be taken away...but no one wants to hear they've been a wicked rotten person, either.

I've had a few times when a good Christian friend has confronted me about an area I need to grow in. And it's hard not to become embittered toward those people. No, I don't try to kill them. But I'll admit it's caused a rift in more than one relationship - even though I usually later realize they were right.

There's one case in the Bible that sticks out, though. Ironically, the time when the prophet was most reluctant to deliver the bad message: Jonah and the Ninevites. When they hear the news of destruction, they repent, even openly admitting it might not work...but maybe God will yet have mercy on them.

That's the attitude I want to have when I'm confronted with a genuine conviction. I don't want to shoot the messenger. I want to take it to heart and repent.