Stumbling Rock of Selfishness
Life Lessons from the Life of Jonah – Stumbling Rock of Selfishness
Doesn’t it feel good when you get your way. It is nice to get a new car or a new gadget that we have wanted for a long time. The feeling that we get is a sence of accomplishment and fulfillment. Why is it though we do not always have that same feeling for others. Sometime I even see people that get upset because one of their friends got something that they did not. This is very common in the business world when a colleague gets a promotion over someone else. This is unfortunately one of the common feelings in our society. Our jealousy, or selfishness, makes us stumble and focuses our thoughts on negatives versus positives for others. This is even more severe when someone that we do not like is blessed. I have even heard people get mad at God because He blessed someone that they did not like. I think most people would agree that this does not seem like the right thing to do, but where can we find guidance in the Bible? One clear area we get guidance is in the Book of Jonah.
We learned about the story of Jonah even as little kids. Most everyone knows the story of Jonah who tried to run away from God. He was trying to run away because God instructed him to go to Nineveh and minister to people that he did not like. Even Veggie Tales has a whole movie dedicated to telling the story of Jonah. I would challenge you though to even look deeper into the story of Jonah. We know that Jonah did not obey God. We know that he ran from God (Which is sort of humorous when you really think about it). We know that he spent days in the belly of a fish or whale. And we know that Jonah finally appealed to God and did as he was commanded. I often use this part of the story to teach my kids about timely obedience. I will say, wouldn’t it have been much better if Jonah would have obeyed the first time? Well, what happened after Jonah finally obeyed? We know that Nineveh was miraculously saved because of Jonah’s teaching. Would it not be amazing if God used one of us to turn around sin in a community like New Orleans or Las Vegas? Well, if we will continue on in the book of Jonah, we will realize his response is much more like our internal sinful nature. Below is Jonah’s response to this miraculous change.
Jonah 4:1-3 (NASB)
1But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.
2He prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.
3"Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life."
When I read this chapter, it really takes me back a step to think of how selfish Jonah must have been to hate someone like this so much that he did not even want to see these people go to heaven. As I try to relate to his thoughts, the main thing that comes to mind is the past and sometimes present hatred I read about with racism. Our history shows that there were people that hated individuals so much, all they wanted to do is enslave them or even kill them. Whether you think about Hitler or slavery in the United States, this must be the type of feelings that Jonah felt toward the people of Nineveh.
When I think of the hatred that someone must have toward people to feel this way, it just seems that they would immediately be embarrassed and feel guilty of these feelings. Well, as we know through history, most people do not react so lovingly. There have been huge wars because of people’s prejudices and their hatred. Well, just as you see in world history, you see a similar response of Jonah. We read that God tried to teach Jonah that he should be happy that these people were saved. If verse Jonah 4:4, God replies. "Do you have good reason to be angry?" Similar like I see in our society today, Jonah still did not turn and love people as God instructs us. God even caused a plant to grow and give Jonah shade, but his heart was so hard that he could not get over his stumbling block of selfishness. To make things worse, Jonah let his anger for the people of Nineveh transfer to anger toward the plant for wilting. He was so angry and he requested God kill him versus asking for forgiveness and seeking shelter. God in all his glory shares His word with us in the remaining chapters. I think that this response should be a sign that we all wear every day. It is written:
Jonah 4:9-11
9Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "I have good reason to be angry, even to death."
10Then the LORD said, "You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.
11"Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"
I challenge you to now think about how this relates to your life today. Where are the areas in your life that you have prejudices that need to be recognize and removed? Where have you found times that you have transferred anger from one situation and let it effect another part of your life that was a blessing? These selfish thought, actions, etc are stumbling blocks. While we do not know if Jonah ever turned his heart around and once again found the joy that only comes from God, it is not too late for us. We must remove these stumbling blocks of selfishness where we can grow closer to God and be a living testimony of His love. In closing, while we are in the world, nothing makes us be of the world.
Doesn’t it feel good when you get your way. It is nice to get a new car or a new gadget that we have wanted for a long time. The feeling that we get is a sence of accomplishment and fulfillment. Why is it though we do not always have that same feeling for others. Sometime I even see people that get upset because one of their friends got something that they did not. This is very common in the business world when a colleague gets a promotion over someone else. This is unfortunately one of the common feelings in our society. Our jealousy, or selfishness, makes us stumble and focuses our thoughts on negatives versus positives for others. This is even more severe when someone that we do not like is blessed. I have even heard people get mad at God because He blessed someone that they did not like. I think most people would agree that this does not seem like the right thing to do, but where can we find guidance in the Bible? One clear area we get guidance is in the Book of Jonah.
We learned about the story of Jonah even as little kids. Most everyone knows the story of Jonah who tried to run away from God. He was trying to run away because God instructed him to go to Nineveh and minister to people that he did not like. Even Veggie Tales has a whole movie dedicated to telling the story of Jonah. I would challenge you though to even look deeper into the story of Jonah. We know that Jonah did not obey God. We know that he ran from God (Which is sort of humorous when you really think about it). We know that he spent days in the belly of a fish or whale. And we know that Jonah finally appealed to God and did as he was commanded. I often use this part of the story to teach my kids about timely obedience. I will say, wouldn’t it have been much better if Jonah would have obeyed the first time? Well, what happened after Jonah finally obeyed? We know that Nineveh was miraculously saved because of Jonah’s teaching. Would it not be amazing if God used one of us to turn around sin in a community like New Orleans or Las Vegas? Well, if we will continue on in the book of Jonah, we will realize his response is much more like our internal sinful nature. Below is Jonah’s response to this miraculous change.
Jonah 4:1-3 (NASB)
1But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.
2He prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.
3"Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life."
When I read this chapter, it really takes me back a step to think of how selfish Jonah must have been to hate someone like this so much that he did not even want to see these people go to heaven. As I try to relate to his thoughts, the main thing that comes to mind is the past and sometimes present hatred I read about with racism. Our history shows that there were people that hated individuals so much, all they wanted to do is enslave them or even kill them. Whether you think about Hitler or slavery in the United States, this must be the type of feelings that Jonah felt toward the people of Nineveh.
When I think of the hatred that someone must have toward people to feel this way, it just seems that they would immediately be embarrassed and feel guilty of these feelings. Well, as we know through history, most people do not react so lovingly. There have been huge wars because of people’s prejudices and their hatred. Well, just as you see in world history, you see a similar response of Jonah. We read that God tried to teach Jonah that he should be happy that these people were saved. If verse Jonah 4:4, God replies. "Do you have good reason to be angry?" Similar like I see in our society today, Jonah still did not turn and love people as God instructs us. God even caused a plant to grow and give Jonah shade, but his heart was so hard that he could not get over his stumbling block of selfishness. To make things worse, Jonah let his anger for the people of Nineveh transfer to anger toward the plant for wilting. He was so angry and he requested God kill him versus asking for forgiveness and seeking shelter. God in all his glory shares His word with us in the remaining chapters. I think that this response should be a sign that we all wear every day. It is written:
Jonah 4:9-11
9Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?" And he said, "I have good reason to be angry, even to death."
10Then the LORD said, "You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.
11"Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"
I challenge you to now think about how this relates to your life today. Where are the areas in your life that you have prejudices that need to be recognize and removed? Where have you found times that you have transferred anger from one situation and let it effect another part of your life that was a blessing? These selfish thought, actions, etc are stumbling blocks. While we do not know if Jonah ever turned his heart around and once again found the joy that only comes from God, it is not too late for us. We must remove these stumbling blocks of selfishness where we can grow closer to God and be a living testimony of His love. In closing, while we are in the world, nothing makes us be of the world.
posted by Heath Hudspeth at 9:30 PM
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