SPIRITUAL POUTING

Jonah 4:5
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Mercy

5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city.


For the full context, read Jonah 4:1-11.

I’ve seen it happen on the playground. The young boy who brought the ball that the kids are playing with doesn’t get picked when the teams are chosen. He gets angry and says, “If I can’t play, I’ll take my ball and go home.

Jonah got mad at God when He wouldn’t destroy the city of Nineveh. He was so angry, he walked away from his mission. He left Nineveh, went out the east side, sat down and pouted.

When something doesn’t go your way at church, do you take your ball and go home? Drop out of the choir … look for a new Sunday School class … withhold your tithe … start visiting, looking for a new church home. Do you even try to convince others to go with you? With all the division we see in the Body of Christ (denominations), it would indicate some spiritual pouting … some responses like Jonah’s … has impacted the mission.

The mission is God’s plan, not ours. We choose whether we stay and play or take our ball and go home.