Arrogance and Selfishness

“Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at GOD, “ GOD! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!

But then God sent a worm. By dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun came up and God sent a hot, blistering wind from the east. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!”

GOD said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?” “So, GOD, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!” GOD said, “What do you have to be angry about?” But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city. GOD arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.

Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?” Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die!””

‭‭“GOD said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?””‭‭Jonah‬ ‭4:10-11‬ ‭MSG‬‬https://www.bible.com/97/jon.4.10-11.msg

https://www.bible.com/97/jon.4.1-11.msg

We need to be sure to learn from Jonah’s mistake. How can anyone be a child of God and hate people so much that you want God to destroy them. If so, God help us!! Hate comes from arrogance. Arrogance says you’re better than those people thus they aren’t worth God’s love. God created everyone in his image! How dare we hate any of God’s children. God is love. He sent Jesus to die for us all. Thus we are all worth the same. Don’t hate. Love.

Jonah felt sorry for himself. Poor Jonah. He was used by God to save a city. How awful! Jonah had no reason to feel sorry for himself. We have no reason to feel sorry for ourselves either. We are such a blessed people. Feeling sorry for yourself goes with arrogance. How dare this happen to me. I deserve better. Well, guess what, we all deserve to burn in Hell. So, if we get what we deserve we won’t like it. We need to be humble and see how blessed we are so That we can avoid the “poor, poor me” attitude. Trust me there is always someone worse off than you. Focus on Jesus and everything else will be alright!

Be sure to click the YouTube link and listen to “Love God, Love People”.