The Bible Character I Relate the Most with
Who is the Bible character you relate with the most?
People might say Peter, Mary or Martha, Thomas.
Who else is popular?
The person I relate to is a very odd character, in the old testament, who was once swallowed by a fish — Jonah.
I find his tale very compelling and often times I feel like taking his side.
Jonah’s Story: A Recap
So, Jonah was sent by God to a very treacherous and sinful people, the people of Nineveh.
God needed them to repent so as to avoid destruction and Jonah didn’t really want to go.
So he kept on running away from the assignment.
He was like, they did the deed, they should face the consequences. Right?
So after taking a lot of turns he finally arrives Nineveh, preaches to the people, the people truly repent and God does not destroy them.
And Jonah gets upset.
This is the funny part —
This guy is so mad that he has suicidal thoughts — because, God chose to forgive the people of Nineveh.
So one day, after preaching to Nineveh he is chilling outside the town and God sends a plant to give him some shade and proceeds to kill off the plant afterwards.
Uncle Jonah has another bout of suicidal thoughts, because of the dead plant.
So God asks him why he could feel so upset for the plant yet not bother about the lives of people within the town.
“You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left — and also many animals?”
The Problem With Thinking You’re Better than Others
So you see some of us, our problem is our self righteousness which often results in misplaced priorities.
‘You could fight for a plant or an animal and launch campaigns to save seaweeds but care less about the poor and desperate you see in your neighborhood.’
We want to do good things and work for big purposes and we prefer to pick and choose according to what suits us instead of where there is an obvious need.
We also have a standard for ourselves which we often impose upon others.
It’s always easier to think that others are the problem or that the environment is the problem.
We go through life so we can become refined and much better persons.
If you ever think you’ve arrived or you’re better than others in any situation then you still have a long way to go.
If you always believe your judgement is the most apt and most reasonable, then oops, you have a very long way to go.
If you have ever judged Jonah, or judged anybody at all in life, you need to check yourself.
We need to check ourselves all the time.
What to do with our Misplaced Priorities
“Is it right for you to be angry”? Is what God asked Jonah.
Should he have been more concerned about his righteous beliefs or about the lives of 120,000 people and animals?
In this case, Jonah had his priorities misplaced because of his own personal beliefs, his own moral compass.
When you look at the bigger picture then you realize that your prejudices and righteous beliefs can be set aside.
If you could choose between your personal convictions and the lives of 120,000 people and livestock, what would you choose?
If your personal beliefs or convictions let you disregard the lives of others, then it’s not worth fart. Please throw them away.
Love is the first priority.
The life of others must come first in any cause we take on.
