Do you do well?

Jonah 4:1-4

1  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2  And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3  Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4  And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world. 

Really?  Do you believe that?  Why is it that we teach our children to respect other people of all ethnicities while we harbor deep resentment and hatred for people who are different from us even in things such as preferences?  I find that I can be prejudiced against people who like a different music style than my own.  Or people who choose to wear their hat on their head cock-eyed rather than the way ‘it was meant to be’ worn.  Silly me.  Sinful me.  I allow the differences of others to my assumed ‘right ways’ to interfere with God’s mercy by crossing to the proverbial other side of the street.

At the heart of the message of Jonah is a strong sense of provincialism and prejudice.  We know Jonah held such a pride early in the book, but what about now that he has experienced the belly of the fish episode and ‘repented’ and shown his thankfulness to God?  Surely Jonah will be thrilled to see wayward sinners come to know God’s grace!  Wrong . . . so very wrong.  Jonah is not only disappointed, he is ticked.  

I invite you to read Jonah 4 and begin investigating for yourself what it is that angers Jonah.  Meanwhile, ask the Lord to reveal what makes you angry at Him and others and causes His grace through you to be minimized by you.  Do you do well to be angry?