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!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more