When David was confronted by the curses of Shimei he had a couple of choices.  One option was to have his mighty warriors wipe Shimei from the face of the earth.  Another option was to listen to Shimei’s words and to take heed.  Certainly, the people on David’s side were hoping that he would give them permission to destroy the little pipsqueak who was making derogatory remarks about the king.  David, however, realized that God uses people – great and small – to carry His messages of truth.  Who was David to judge whether Shimei was simply a messenger from the Lord, fulfilling the role that God had given him?  

It’s so easy to want to close the mouths of our detractors, but the truth is that sometimes they are not simply thorns in our flesh but carriers of truth.  We need to prayerfully consider what exactly they are saying, and then we need to decide what to do with it.  Many times these people have ill motives and do not carry important messages, but wouldn’t it be tragic if we missed what God wanted to tell us simply because we quit listening to those who disagree?