Getting Angry

 

    Have you ever gotten angry over something good?  Maybe you don't even know why you are angry.  You just know that you are.  Or maybe your work pays off, but not in the way that you wanted.  

    Jonah was angry.  He never wanted to be God's missionary or preacher in an evil city.  Then the city repents and God's vengeance is removed.  That is good news.  There is not a better outcome, but Jonah was angry.  Deep down he wanted them to be punished for their evil.  When they were not, he was angry with God.  

    At least Jonah was productive with his anger.  He prayed to God in and about his anger.  They were supposed to experience calamity, so why were they spared?  He was so upset by the outcome that he rather die than live in a world that was so unfair in his opinion.  

    Jonah had turned a triumphant moment into self-pity.  He did just about everything wrong from the very beginning and he still could not see how God was showing him compassion along with the people of Nineveh.  In his heart, he  was the same as them.

    Jonah's life was not over, but maybe his ministry was.  God removed Jonah from Nineveh to give him solitude to work out his attitude.  God took special care to give Jonah restorative rest and peace.  He was rescuing Jonah from his troubled thoughts.

    Then God took it away.  He made things intentionally uncomfortable for Jonah to teach him a lesson.  However, Jonah still rather die than live.  God took the opportunity to give Jonah a new perspective.  It is more important to care about people than your own self-interest.  Why get angry over things that you can't control.  Life is a gift, so appreciate it.  

    Depression is a serious thing and should never be down played, but sometimes with a better perspective it can heal.  The book end abruptly.  We will never know if Jonah's attitude changed or if he remain surely.  However, we do know that he did as God asked and God taught us a lot of valuable lessons through Jonah.

Jonah 4