We read in Jonah 4:6, “Then the LORD God made a plant grow up over Jonah to give him some shade, so that he would be more comfortable. Jonah was extremely pleased with the plant.” (GNB)
As we studied the life of Jonah there are numerous lessons that we have picked up, both for our personal lives, and for the church as well. Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh, and the people repented of their sinful ways. The Lord relented and withdrew His judgement on the people of Nineveh which was a major disappointment to Jonah, who went out of the city, and sat down to watch if God would destroy the city as He had planned. Since the place where Jonah rested was a wilderness, the heat of the sun scorched him as he sat under a temporary shelter. Graciously the Lord caused a plant to grow which give shade to Jonah from the sweltering heat, and Jonah felt comfortable under its shade.
Jonah was angry with God
Earlier in Jonah 4:1, “Jonah was very unhappy about this and became angry.” (GNB)
Jonah who was unhappy and angry in verse 1 of chapter 4, was suddenly filled with joy as recorded in verse 6. While Jonah was elated over a little plant that provide shade to him, he was annoyed that God was compassionate to the people of Nineveh who repented of their sins.
Often times we too make the same mistake that Jonah made. There was another man the bible talks about who was also angry with God just like Jonah.
The brother who was angry
We read in Luke 15:28, “The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in.”(GNB)
In this parable that Jesus taught, a father had two sons, and the elder one went out to work as usual on that particular day. As he returned home, he heard the sound of music and partying and he had no clue as to what was happening.
We read in Luke 15:26, “So he called one of the servants and asked him, 'What's going on?'” (GNB)
This was the response he received as recorded in Luke 15:27,'Your brother has come back home,' the servant answered, 'and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.' (GNB)
The one who had returned home was his younger brother who had a few years prior demanded his share of property from his father, moved off to a distant place, and squandered all of his wealth is riotous living. It was no wonder then that the elder son was upset with his father as he knew that his younger brother had wasted all of his father’s hard earned money. Notice how the servant explained this to the elder son by asserting that the one who returned was his own brother, and also the son to their father. The servant also explained that against all odds the younger son had returned safe and sound, which he said was the reason for the rejoicing at home. Though the elder son had lost nothing in this process, and was still heir to all that his father possessed, the reason for his anger was that his father showed compassion on his wayward brother, forgave Him, and took him back.
Often we refer to the parable as the story of the prodigal son, where we refer to the younger son who took his share, and squandered it all as the bad son. Actually if you study this story in depth, we might be alarmed to realize that the elder son had no compassion whatsoever on his younger brother.
This was so much like Jonah, who could not rejoice that the people of Nineveh repented, but rather was angry with God that He spared them from His punishment and judgement.
One of the reasons why Jonah and the elder son were enraged was because both had a self-righteous attitude. Self-righteousness can be defined as the attitude that makes one think that they are better than someone else. It is generally possible for all of us to have it, but when this gets to an extreme, it results in such people constantly finding fault with others. Sadly, there many such self-righteous people in the church and in ministry too. Some will fake extreme concern for others and speak about it loftily, but in reality this actually stems from self-righteous attitude. We can discern self-righteousness in someone when they subtly speak ill of others, thereby elevating themselves to appear very good. Self-righteousness will also make one constantly compare themselves with others. If such an attitude is lurking inside of us, we must confess it to the Lord and be rid of it. Whenever we speak ill of others we are judging them, and also we make the mistake of demeaning others just to promote ourselves.
• The elder son’s justification
When the father came out of the house to invite the elder son into the house, as he stood outside outraged this was his response.
We read in Luke 15:29-30, “But he spoke back to his father, 'Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends! But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!'” (GNB)
Look at what how the elder son compared himself with his younger brother and boastfully declared to his father that he had always been the good one, unlike his reckless younger brother. He also pointed out all the wrongs that his younger brother had committed, and reminded his father that he had wasted all that belonged to his father deliberately.
The parable Jesus taught
There are so many who are constantly finding fault with others. Listen to the words of Jesus as found in Luke 18:9, “Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else.” (GNB)
This was the parable that Jesus taught to explain about those who are self-righteous and the two qualities that stand out in such people. Firstly, they will assume that they are righteous, without any fault, and secondly, they look down on everyone else as sinful. Someone said, ‘heaven will be full of surprises, because the ones we thought would be there will not be there, but those we least expected will be found there.’ This is simply to help us realize that God does not regard people the way we consider them. We may not recognize those who are truthful, but God will surely acknowledge such people.
When these two qualities of overestimating oneself, and underestimating another happens, it becomes a dangerous place to be in. As children of God we should be cautious to not judge others just because we have been saved by God. Instead we should be thankful to God for His grace showered on us. If God were to take into account all of our sins, and treat us accordingly, none of us can stand before Him. It is therefore necessary that we who have received the grace and mercy of God should extend the same to others who are in need of it as well. None of us are worthy, it is only God in His grace has chosen, saved us, forgiven us and blessed us. This self-righteousness so dominates the life of many believers that it has adversely affected their personal lives, their family life and their life in the church.
The Pharisee and his self-righteous prayer
Let’s get back to the parable that Jesus taught in Luke 18.
We read in Luke 18:10, "Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.” (GNB)
Of the two men who came to prayer to the temple, one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
All kinds of people come to church to pray. We have pastors, elders, musicians, church members, leaders all of whom go to church, and one of the main reasons is for prayer. This big group which comprises of all sorts’ people can be divided into two main categories based on their stance. Their attitude can either be like that of the Pharisee or that of the tax collector.
Listen to the prayer of the Pharisee as we read in Luke 18:11-12, The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, 'I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.' (GNB)
Observe the pompous prayer that the Pharisee prayed giving a detailed description of all the good that he did, not even perceiving that God knows everything. The Pharisee compared himself with those outside and declared that he was not greedy, dishonest or an adulterer. He then looked at the one closest to him, the tax collector, and also justified himself that he was better off than him too.
The Pharisee also told God about his fasting and tithing as though God was not aware of it. It seems that all that the Pharisee did was entirely for himself, to ease his conscience, or to impress others, and hence he had to make sure that God was informed about his good deeds through his prayer. Sadly, at the end of his elaborate prayer the Pharisee’s prayer was not accepted by God.
Have you noticed how when someone wants to justify themselves, they will say, ‘God knows all about me?’ This is often done in families too, especially when there is a conflict between husband and wife. We should be cautious to take God’s name in vain in all our conversations. This kind of feeling of self-righteousness is one of the main reasons for problems within the church at large. This constant comparison with each other, and this feeling of superiority has been the major cause for much confusion in the church.
Sometimes it is an embarrassment when we ask some people to pray in public because they use this opportunity to declare to everyone all the good deed that they have done. A life of comparison like that which the Pharisee made with the tax collector will only result in confusion and will never bring peace. Our prayers must be right before God, and also we must totally avoid comparing ourselves with others because all of us have sinned, and the word of God declares that there is none righteous.
Let me give you an example to explain this point. When the child performs poorly in an exam, and gets a low mark, in order to not make the parents get annoyed sometimes they will present it this way to them. The child may first tell the parent that majority of the class performed poorly, and by so doing the child has prepared the parent to hear the worst. The child will not share anything about the other group of students who did well in the same exam. Cautiously the child will then show the low marks he or she secured just to ease the tension, and make their performance on the test not appear too bad. This comparison is to soften the parent’s heart so that they will not be upset with them.
If for some reason we think that we are a little more righteous than others, let me remind you that in God’s presence all of us are sinners, and none of us stand justified before God on our own. This can be compared to a class of students, wherein, the one who failed for want of one mark and the one who got the lowest mark are all in the same predicament, for all have failed the test. God’s righteousness is something that He gifts to us, and only with His righteousness can we stand before His presence. The fact that we are saved, are part of the church, and are preparing ourselves for the Lord’s second coming is solely because of the grace of God, and this should never be forgotten. This is applicable for everyone, those who are serving the Lord as Pastors, evangelists, leaders, musicians or are just members of the church.
We looked at Jonah and the elder son who were angry with God only because they considered themselves more righteous.
The men who were enraged by a healing
We read in Luke 6:11, “They were filled with rage and began to discuss among themselves what they could do to Jesus.” (GNB)
This incident happened on a Sabbath when Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. There was a man with a shriveled hand who was there, and the religious leaders were keenly observing to see if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath day. Jesus made the man stand up and healed him. When the scribes and the Pharisees saw this miracle, one would expect that they would have been astounded, and would have enquired of Jesus as to how this was possible. Or else, if their ego was too big to ask Jesus, they should have at least prayed, and asked God to give them the power to perform miracles as Jesus did. Strangely, these men were filled with rage, and discussed among themselves as to what they could do to Jesus. The Pharisees should have actually rejoiced that one among them was healed, but that joy was totally missing.
The rage of these religious leaders made them plot against Jesus, falsely charged Him, had Him arrested as though He was a criminal, and nailed Him to the cross. They thought it was over for Jesus, but God turned their evil schemes for the good of all mankind.
One should not think that self-righteousness is a simple matter. If not dealt with, we may be deceived to think we are serving the Lord, when in reality we will be serving Satan.
Let us acknowledge that we are standing firm, and have not been consumed only because of God’s grace and mercy lavished on us. None of us have right to judge another or to find fault with others, because we are not in any way better than them. Jonah, the elder son, the Pharisee or the religious leaders, none of them rejoiced over God’s grace, but were enraged instead. If we don’t rejoice over what God is doing in the lives of others, very soon we will lose the joy in our own lives.
As sons and daughters of God let us set aside all our self-righteousness, which can be a dangerous thing. May we examine our hearts to see if we rejoice with others when God is gracious to them, or are we angry and grieved. I pray God will raise many in the church today who will throw off all forms of self-righteousness, and have a heart of compassion towards those who are lost without Christ.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
