At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)
“A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: But a faithful ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:17).
“A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing” (Proverbs 13:17, ESV).
This proverb provides us with a true glimpse of the value of a faithful underling, a faithful employee.
The employer, the boss, the master, or the king, whatever position he holds, is dependent on “good help.” There have been more than a few rulers of a huge expansive empire who were incapable of getting anything done. He could order his lunch to be brought to him, and it would happen, but if he ordered reforms in a distant province, there was no telling what would happen.
An unfaithful messenger has his own ideas, and is playing his own game. He is told to deliver a message, and he modifies it according to his own purposes, tailoring it (perhaps) to flatter the recipient. Whatever his designs, this proverb says that it is not going to end well for him. He will fall into trouble. He will get entangled in his own bright ideas.
The faithful envoy is the one who honors the spirit and the letter of the message he was told to deliver. This means that the nation, or empire, or corporation, whatever it is, will run smoothly. There is consistency between what is ordered and what is done. When messages are delivered by wicked messengers, the body politic will be spastic and all out of joint. This hurts everyone, including the messenger who was being too clever by half.
An enormous amount of trouble is caused in the world because of unfaithful go-betweens. This includes delivering a message when nobody asked you to, or delivering a message that was just 5% off, or failing to deliver a message at all.
