“No man delights in the bearer of bad news,” Sophocles wrote around 440 bc. Last year I experienced two instances of “shoot the messenger” backlash because of some well-intentioned remarks I’d made to people who didn’t want to hear them.
Feeling I’d been treated unjustly, I succumbed to bouts of resentment. At the same time, a mole on my back suddenly became uncomfortable. Along with pain, there was itching that wouldn’t cease.
Realizing that resentment wasn’t a helpful response, I turned my thought to God instead, and this loved Bible verse came to mind: “Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord” (Isaiah 11:9, New Living Translation).
