Under Siege

(Jeremiah 38:4-6) ¶ Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5 ¶ Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.”
6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.

I suppose that a pastor is especially susceptible to a "siege mentality."

Part of the pastor's calling is to deal with people about their sin - and to encourage them to repent and turn back to Christ. Occasionally there are dramatic positive results. Often people are defensive, resentful and unpleasant - like in Jeremiah's case.

But I love Proverbs 18:10. When I find that I am under attack, my natural reaction is to be defensive myself and to fight back. But then I remember I have a place of safety... in the name of the LORD. I can run to Him and let Him take care of the attacker.

(Proverbs 18:10) The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.