Christians: Mind Your Anger in These Troubled Times; A Lesson From Jonah

By: American Decency Staff

The story of Jonah is one of the most meaningful texts in the Bible for me. It tells not only of the great miracle of a man being swallowed by a great fish and living to tell about it, but it also serves to remind us of the attitudes we should possess when representing the Lord to those who reject Him and His ways.

Jonah was called by God to preach to the people of Nineveh. He didn't want to obey God at first. The reluctant prophet rebelled against God and got as far away from His will as he could get on a ship. His resistance would only prove to be futile. God sent a great storm to intercept the ship, which resulted in Jonah being thrown overboard by the crew. Jonah would have been lost at sea, except that God sent a great fish to swallow him up, actually saving his life and providing him passage in the right direction toward Nineveh.

Having been provided with another chance, Jonah obeyed God. He preached to Nineveh and the Bible says the whole city repented and was spared. You would think that would have made Jonah rejoice. Instead, he was angry and upset because Nineveh had been the oppressors of his own beloved people. He must have preached with incredible hubris and enthusiasm as he pronounced judgment, glorying in the hope that the Ninevites would get what's coming to them.

 

 

I suggest many Christians today are afflicted with anger.

Decade by decade, year by year, day by day, we've seen politicians, celebrities, a liberal and biased press, destroy the blessed country they love from within. More than 56 million babies have been aborted and their body parts horrifically harvested and sold. The courts tyrannically overrule the will of the people on marriage, imposing their own will on the Constitution and writing law from the bench. Christian people are heavily fined and even jailed in this country now for living out their faith.

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