Day 284- Don't Shoot the Messenger
📖Daily Reading
2 Corinthians 6-7
🎥 Video
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
2 Corinthians 7: 9-11
“Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.”
It is not easy to be in the position to deliver a message to someone out of concern. Especially when you anticipate it will not be well received. It is not easy to be the one on the receiving end of such a message. We don’t like giving or receiving bad news, some of us more than others are more sensitive to it. Calling myself out here. But I am learning to lean into growing in this area. Love is honest, love is respectful and love cares.
We can deliver truth and concern with love and respect. We can also choose to receive it. It takes patience and learning to respond rather than react. This takes a lot of ego work. Checking your ego and your motives before you deliver a message is very important. It is obvious that Paul did that here. He really spent time considering and checking in with his motives before sending his letter pointing out the behavior of this church and the consequences they were inventing in if they did not change.
From this excerpt the people also received the message well. It is hard when you have gotten off track and you are hoping no one notices and you get called out. The ego wants to immediately defend, protect, blame etc. It takes a humble heart to receive an honest rebuke and critical feedback. When it is done with love, and from someone we trust and that we know has our best interest at heart. We can look within and honestly receive it and it will often cause this type of sorrow that Paul describes here.
Rather than the knee jerk reaction to ‘shoot the messenger’ can we take a deep breath pause and examine ourselves and see the truth. We are very good at justifying and rationalizing our behavior. It is important to have people in your life that are truth tellers even when you don’t want to hear the truth. We can’t change or have authentic loving relationships if we can be honest even when it causes sorrow for all involved. This type of sorrow causes deeper connection within and without, deep integrity, wholeness and and opportunity to grow.
I almost titled this painful lessons, it is often painful to get the message a lesson has to teach us. Life is a lesson and we are all in this is earth school together. When we work together and hold each other accountable we help each other be our best selves and who we really want to be deep down. The more I study this amazing book I am getting the message that humility is the narrow gate.
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
How can you be humble and receive the messages that God needs you to hear, even when your ego wants to shoot the messenger? How can you also make sure that you are delivering a message in love with respect and not from your own ego and judgement?
📖Tomorrows Reading
2 Corinthians 8
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