Friday; November 12

I have been doing a lot of thinking about Jonah the last few weeks. I did a few lessons on him recently so I have been tuned in to his life lately. (In fact, the other day when I saw the part of the movie “Jaws” when Captain Quint is eaten by the shark, I couldn’t help but reflect back on how Jonah’s fate was much better than his.) Jonah is one of those guys I really struggle with – he had so much talent and was given an incredible opportunity, but his life still falls flat with me. As I have thought about him recently, I think I am beginning to realize the dissonance I have with him – he was a prophet of God, but he was selfish. His effort to flee from God on the boat to Tarshish wasn’t because he was lazy. His anger at God when his plant was eaten by a worm wasn’t because he was an environmentalist. Jonah’s negativity appears to come from a self-centered life. This quality seems to come out when he justified his pouting after God forgave the Ninevites by saying, “… I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” (Jonah 4:2). Jonah was angry because God was kind enough not to destroy 120,000 people who repented? That isn’t rational, it is selfish!
It is easy to condemn Jonah for his self-centered attitude, but do we realize how easy it is for us to jump in the same boat with him? When we hope our enemy’s attempts to do good fall flat … when we rejoice that someone fails because it makes us look better … when we feel smug because an opponent is embarrassed; we take on a selfish personality like Jonah.

Let’s do all we can to want the best for everyone. When we do, we will be able to make the most out of our talent and our opportunities.

Think About It!

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