Attitudes; we all have them. Some are good; some not so good. Attitudes come to the surface every day when we are under stress or pressure. When someone hurts us we might want to lash out and take revenge instead of showing mercy. We are to have the attitude of God the Father; His attitude is love and mercy. Everyone has attitudes to deal with and we need to learn from the Word of God what kinds of attitudes are acceptable to God. This week I want to talk about the “undeserving” attitude that Jonah had toward the people of Nineveh, and learn how he overcame that attitude.

Jonah 1:1   God sent Jonah to preach to the city of Nineveh but he (Jonah) didn’t want to because of how wicked they were and believed they deserved the wrath of God not His mercy. Have you ever thought it impossible to reach someone with the love of God because of their sin and wickedness? Maybe like Jonah you just didn’t even want to take the time to speak to them about the love and forgiveness of God. Many times it may be due to the fact that we take their rejection of Jesus as our own rejection. We must realize that this rejection is not so much for or against us specifically as it their rejection of Jesus. When we come to grips with that fact, then we can more easily handle any adverse response. We are to be bold to present the Gospel to the world around us, allowing the love of God to shine through us to draw others to Him.

Jonah 1:3   Instead of obeying God Jonah fled from the presence of God. Isn’t it interesting that when we disobey, the first thing most of us want to do is hide from God. Silly isn’t it, because we know that’s actually impossible since God is omnipresent. The “drive” that makes us want to run from God is the power that sin holds over us until we confess our sin and receive forgiveness from God Almighty.

Jonah 1:4   There are consequences to sin. Our sin affects more than just us, it affects those around us too; and theirs us. No one lives in a bubble or world of their own; we are connected.   In Jonah’s case, a severe storm arose and even the mariners were afraid! Another point I’d like to make is that Jonah was asleep! This says to me that a person can be oblivious to the circumstances they have caused by their sin. No it may not be as critical as Jonah’s but our actions do affect others.

Jonah 1:6 In times of trouble others will come to us for prayer.  The Captain and mariners of the ship had prayed to their gods to no avail; so they turned to Jonah, asking him to pray to his God. Jonah finally took responsibility for his sin and the result – for him – was being thrown overboard into the sea.

Now since God knew what was going to happen He had prepared a way of helping Jonah; even though I’m sure at the time it didn’t seem like much help. Being swallowed by a great fish probably wasn’t his first choice of escape. I look at this as God’s mercy in giving Jonah time to repent; which of course he did. Jonah 2 tells us that Jonah had a heart change and prayed to God; God heard his prayers and gave him a second chance. Now you and I may not be in the same situation as Jonah found himself (in the belly of a fish) but we might feel at times that we are being “swallowed up” by the circumstances we created by our sin. Please be assured that just as God heard Jonah’s prayers He hears our prayers too. Just as God gave Jonah another chance to complete his mission (Jonah 3), God will help us and give us a second chance (and many more) to complete the course He has called us to do.

What I find interesting is that even though Jonah eventually obeyed God and went to Nineveh, and preached, he then was upset with God for showing mercy to them when they repented. He still didn’t think that city, those people, deserved God’s mercy. But honestly, isn’t that the reason God sends us out to preach the Gospel, so souls will be saved? The truth is none of us deserve God’s mercy. He gives it to us because of His great love for us and proved His love for us by sending Jesus to the Cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Though God loves us and wants to show grace and mercy to us, He also corrects us just like He did Jonah. In Jonah 4:4 God asked Jonah; “is it right for you to be angry?” In other words Jonah didn’t really have a right to be upset with God for saving those wicked people. Think about it, if God wanted to show wrath to us for our sins, He would not have sent Jesus. He didn’t send Jesus to condemn us but to save us (John 3:16-17). Jesus came for the whole world and for that reason we should always be ready to share with others that God loves them and is not angry with them. This is the Good News that Jesus so loved the world that He died for our sins; and now we are free from the power and dominion of sin. Jesus is the Savior of the world. JESUS is the ONLY SAVIOR.  Remember God is for us and not against us.

Father God, as we come before you this week, I pray that you will reveal any “undeserving attitude” we might have in our heart towards another.  Forgive us and help us to walk in love.