I know i have been affected by the Jonah attitude, probably more than i’d like to admit. How about you? Keep reading if you want to discover something about the Jonah attitude and what it can look like on the servants of GOD today. As always, there is hope in the end so be brave, swallow hard, and scroll down.
The first sign that you or i are wearing a Jonah attitude lies in our belief system. This naughty attitude overtakes us when we actually believe that we can pick and choose the things of GOD that we will or won’t do. It’s detected when we hear ourselves say, “Yes, LORD i’ll do that cause it will give me pleasure.” Or “No, LORD I won’t do that cause there is really nothing in it for me.” Or “Nah, LORD can’t do that cause i don’t understand it or agree with it.”
Okay, we probably never say THOSE exact words out loud but whatever words we are using to sugar coat our disobedience…if we put them in a pot…and boiled them down…they would come out looking…like those words.
Now, do GOD’S people have GOD given free will…to make their own choice…to do GOD’S bidding or not?
Yep. Yep, we do. Just bear in mind ‘to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin”n.
The Jonah attitude can also take this nasty form: refusing to do good to someone just cause we don’t like them! And since we don’t like them we don’t wanna help them. And since we don’t wanna help them we will never be able to save them. And since we can’t save them we wait for their destruction…and we may even (secretly) wish for it and look forward to their downfall. Yeah, that perspective has got Jonah written all over it.
Okay, one more…hang in there. The last Jonah attitude i’d like to uncover today is of the “I-don’t-really-care-how-my-stinkin’-attitude-is-gonna-affect-anyone else” variety.
Jonah knew he was directly, intentionally, purposefully disobeying GOD….and he said “Eh, GOD.”
Jonah knew he was jeopardizing the lives of a whole shipload of men through his running away…and he said, “I’ll do it anyway.”
Jonah knew 120,000 peoples souls were at stake in the great city of Nineveh…and he said, “So what?”
Jonah, Jonah, Jonah. Me and you, me and you me and you.
Now if you saw any of those attitudes in you (past or present)… you can maybe agree with me that…we are all a mess…and all pretty dumb…and all have/still are harboring attitudes. That’s pretty heavy…so what’s the hope?
Here’s the hope:
Did GOD know before requesting that Jonah go on HIS mission that Jonah was housing those ungodly attitudes? The answer is a resounding YES!
Did GOD ask him to do it anyways? YES again!
Did GOD follow after Jonah and lead him to repentance in the big fishes belly? YES!
Did GOD give Jonah another chance to do-it-right? YES! YES!
Did GOD know that even though Jonah had a change of mind and went to Nineveh…he did not have a change of heart…and walked obedience with a crummy attitude? YES!
Did GOD continue to talk to Jonah about his rotten attitudes, while Jonah rested on the hill, waiting and hoping for Nineveh to be destroyed. YES!
Did JESUS in the New Testament use the story of Jonah in the big fish as an example to HIS death and resurrection?
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
Take heart dear ones….if you have ever had in past times…or are carrying now…a portion of the Jonah attitude…know that you are in good company…ranking right up there with some of the prophets of GOD!
And learn that GOD isn’t about squashing you out. Not our GOD. Our GOD saw the repentance of the 120,000 heathen folks in the wicked city of Nineveh and delighted that HE didn’t have to perform the evil that HE had incited against them.
How much more so the grace and mercy of GOD towards HIS beloved children! If you’ve been wrong in your attitudes…then repent and do it right. If your’e having a hard time getting it right…keep trying. Learn from those who have gone before us…it’s all written there for our examples. Disobedience will lead us to places we really do not wanna end up. Saying “No” to GOD is a rough and rocky path. Running the other way will only prolong the inevitable cause our GOD will track us down…call us out…brush us off…and tell us again.
As for me, i’d like to avoid the belly of a great fish as often as i can. How about you?