What We Can Learn from Jonah

The story of Jonah is probably one of the most well-known tales from the Bible, even by non-believers. God tells his prophet Jonah to go preach repentance to Nineveh, a city of wickedness that rivals Sodom and Gomorrah. Jonah runs away from God by taking a boat. God sends a storm against the boat. Jonah admits his wrongdoing and is thrown into the sea. He gets eaten by a great fish (NOT a whale) and prays for forgiveness for three days. God forgives him, the fish spits him up, and Jonah goes to Nineveh. Then after preaching repentance, Nineveh repents, and God spares them His wrath.

But one thing I've noticed is that a lot of adaptations of the story, especially ones meant for children, tend to edit out the ending of the story. They follow suit until Jonah reaches Nineveh and then end the story after Nineveh repents, turning the message into one about obedience to God. A good message to learn, but it isn't the moral of this story. The REST of the tale, which most versions tend to leave out, involves Jonah expecting God to destroy Nineveh anyway and then getting angry when He doesn't.

Now, it's understandable why people don't think this segment is appropriate for children. For one thing, it seems out of character for a prophet of the Lord to be so vindictive. Most prophets, whether they preached feast or famine, still remained faithful to God despite everything that happened to them/the kingdom. How could he be so hateful while preaching a message of repentance?

Turned out God asked him the same question. Was it right for him to be angry? Jonah replied that he knew God was gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. The implication is that Jonah didn't run away from Nineveh because he was afraid of the wicked people, instead he ran away because he knew God would forgive them and he didn't WANT them to be forgiven. The implication is supported by how Jonah actually preached to the city when he finally got to Nineveh. Most of the time, prophets that spoke in condemnation towards other nations or even Israel itself would have detailed, chapter-long lists of every single sin that the nation had committed against the Lord and how they had continually ignored His pleas to repent and turn back to him. What did Jonah say to the Ninevites?

"You're all gonna die in forty days."

That's it. One sentence. Talk about dragging your feet. And yet, they still repented anyway.

And Jonah was so angry that God had spared Nineveh that he wished he was dead. After that, he climbed a nearby mountain and waited to see what would happen. God gives him a plant to shade him from the sun, but then sends a worm the next day to eat the plant and kill it. And when Jonah gets upset about a plant dying that he didn't plant or maintain, God calls him out on it.

"You care more about that plant than all the people in Nineveh. And since you care so much for that plant, why shouldn't I care about Nineveh, which is filled with a hundred and twenty thousand people?"

The story ends there on that question. We will never know how Jonah responded. But the question becomes, how do WE respond?

How often have we been wronged by people close to us and want to get back at them? Those feelings of betrayal and outrage build up inside like a shaken-up soda, ready to explode at any second as we imagine how good retaliation will feel. Cancel Culture has turned this into an art form, scouring social media for anyone guilty of perceived wrongs and bombarding them with vitriol and hate until they disappear. Forget mercy and forgiveness. They need to SUFFER first. Make them beg and plead for mercy as we unleash all of that pent-up wrath and emotion. Finally, finish with a supreme act of retaliation so they know never to get in our way again. Get them fired. Destroy their property. Ruin their friendships. And leave them with nothing. And while that certainly might provide a brief moment of smug catharsis, it won't actually fix the problem, and it won't make you feel better in the long run.

Do you know why there are so many proverbs, quotes, and philosophies both real and fictional about the futility of revenge? It's because no matter how appealing it may seem, revenge can ruin your entire life. Holding onto ill feelings and anger can make you physically unwell: headaches, feeling burnt out, constantly feeling agitated over little things, insomnia, weakened immune system, chronic stress, and even heart troubles. And it makes sense. Bitterness puts your body into adrenaline mode constantly when that state is supposed to be for emergencies only. So naturally, trying to maintain it all the time will inevitably lead to burnout and exhaustion.

But despite that, people still hold on to their anger. Because letting it go would somehow mean that the person that wronged them won't pay for what they've done, and they need to SUFFER. To that mindset, I would like to present two rebuttals and just let them sink in.

1. "How long does someone have to suffer before you're satisfied enough to let go?"

2. "Punishment for wrongdoing is meant to show the person what they did was wrong and divert them from doing it again. It is not for you to feel better about yourself by enjoying their misery."