So Jonah is like the epitome of joylessness. He's so angry that God is going to show compassion towards the people of Nineveh that he tries to escape even the task of preaching to them.
God tries to humble him through some whale incarceration. But that act only gets Jonah to go through the motions--instead of preaching a message of judgment with anticipation that they will repent! Oh the joys he could have had in excitement to see an entire city of 100,000 people repent! When is the last time you saw 100,000 people humble themselves because they saw how wretched their sins were?
So Jonah misses out there. He then can't even be humbled by God's grace in the people of Nineveh. He wanted judgment. And isn't that how people are sometimes? They would rather cry out for wrath than to see mercy handle the situation. And if we're honest, do we ever secretly rejoice when someone "gets what they had coming"? I think there is greater glory in being happy when people are spared from judgment through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
But then Jonah gets all angry about the plant that God made grow and then wither away. God asks the best question: "Do you do well to be angry?"
And that question has been helping me to avoid anger towards my children or anyone else. Little good ever comes from my anger. Almost never. So I have come to see that when I sense that temptation to get angry, God is saying, "Is that really doing well? Is that going to help you? Is that really beautiful?"
And that is my question for you: who are you angry with? Are you so consumed with your own rights and expectations and preferences that you are carrying around anger and bitterness? Do you need to see how futile your anger is? Are you missing out on the joys of graces that God is giving all around you?
Don't let anger murder your happiness. It does not do well for yourself or anyone else.
God tries to humble him through some whale incarceration. But that act only gets Jonah to go through the motions--instead of preaching a message of judgment with anticipation that they will repent! Oh the joys he could have had in excitement to see an entire city of 100,000 people repent! When is the last time you saw 100,000 people humble themselves because they saw how wretched their sins were?
So Jonah misses out there. He then can't even be humbled by God's grace in the people of Nineveh. He wanted judgment. And isn't that how people are sometimes? They would rather cry out for wrath than to see mercy handle the situation. And if we're honest, do we ever secretly rejoice when someone "gets what they had coming"? I think there is greater glory in being happy when people are spared from judgment through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
But then Jonah gets all angry about the plant that God made grow and then wither away. God asks the best question: "Do you do well to be angry?"
And that question has been helping me to avoid anger towards my children or anyone else. Little good ever comes from my anger. Almost never. So I have come to see that when I sense that temptation to get angry, God is saying, "Is that really doing well? Is that going to help you? Is that really beautiful?"
And that is my question for you: who are you angry with? Are you so consumed with your own rights and expectations and preferences that you are carrying around anger and bitterness? Do you need to see how futile your anger is? Are you missing out on the joys of graces that God is giving all around you?
Don't let anger murder your happiness. It does not do well for yourself or anyone else.
So true that any sin will not lead to ultimate happiness. It always makes life harder and more painful in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post
Charlie Albright