Sermon # 49 - Value What God Values Series

We read in Jonah 4:10, “The LORD said to him, "This plant grew up in one night and disappeared the next; you didn't do anything for it and you didn't make it grow—yet you feel sorry for it!” (GNB)

Jonah sat outside the city of Nineveh and eagerly watched to see what would become of it. God wanted to speak to Jonah, and reveal some truths to him. As Jonah sat in the sweltering heat, God caused a huge gourd to grow that provided miraculous shade for Jonah. This plant provided soothing shelter to Jonah from the scorching heat, and as Jonah enjoyed the shade, the Lord caused a worm to eat that plant which withered as a result of it. When faced with this sudden discomfort Jonah was annoyed, and upset about it. Jonah felt so much pity for the plant which withered, but had no compassion on the people of Nineveh.

When we too encounter challenges whereby we lose out on the comforts that we enjoy, do we get upset like Jonah not realizing that all good things come from the hand of the Lord? So, if ever we lose out on those benefits we should not turn bitter, sad or discouraged. We must move on knowing that the Lord is good, and try to comprehend His will, for only then we will be filled with real joy and peace. There is a trap that we too could fall into like Jonah, if we value things and other creatures that God has created, over fellow human beings.

Let me give you some examples from the bible.

The man with a withered hand

We read in Matthew 12:9-10, Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue, where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, "Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?" (GNB)

As Jesus entered the Synagogue there was a man who had a withered hand. The question that was posed to Jesus was if it was lawful to heal someone on the Sabbath day. This is indeed a strange question as Jesus went regularly to the synagogue on many Sabbath days. Interestingly, the Pharisees seemed to have been waiting to trap Jesus, and hence asked Him this strange question. They somehow seemed to have the inkling that Jesus would certainly heal that man.

Generally there are two kinds of questions people ask. One is the question asked to clarify something, and the other question is aimed at finding fault with others. We should learn how to answer each of these questions.

Love over traditions

In those days the religious leaders were so hung up about their traditions, and when it came to keeping the Sabbath, they made sure that they started observing the Sabbath on time and ended it on time. In between they made sure that no work was done. They also had a long list of do’s and don’ts, and these they adhered to, not because they were so pious, but because they wanted to exercise control over the people this way.

We must remember that the thing that motivates us should be the love of God, and not the traditions of men. The Lord does not encumber people with rules and regulations, and He never intends to burden people with guilt. Always we must keep in mind that the Lord desires to lift people up, and will never push anyone down, and walk away from them. If we are the children of God we too must make sure that we uphold those who are down and hurting.

This was Jesus’ reply in Matthew 12:11, Jesus answered, "What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? (GNB)

These words of Jesus are deep and filled with meaning. There at the Synagogue was a man with an infirmity, and going through pain that no one else could understand. Though these men could not help this man and knew that Jesus could, they did not want Jesus to help him either. Jesus in His wisdom threw a question back at them. He presented to them a situation wherein if one of their sheep fell into a pit on a Sabbath day, they would certainly lift it up because they would not want it to be hurt or die that way. Their rules permitted them to help an animal in distress, but not a human being on a Sabbath day.

Oftentimes, when we go out to comfort those who are in trouble we must realize that we can never comprehend the pain they are going through. We should be careful to not hurt them further with our words. There are some religious leaders even today, who will not help others and will also hinder others from doing good for them. Often, when we are not clear-minded, we too hold on to men and other traditions of men, being more zealous for these. I have had experience where some will question me about our church, and the way we observe communion, and will try to convince me that the way that they observe it is the right way. These people do not realize that we are all members of God’s body, the church at large. If we do not understand why we do what we do, we are likely to miss out on God’s blessings and its true meaning. Do things as God requires us to do, and never do anything just for the sake of keeping traditions or to just observe some rules.