Jonah's Box

“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. For I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”… Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. – Jonah 1:12, 17

Jonah was trying to take the credit for the storm. “Don’t you mean ‘took the blame’?” you may ask. No – I mean the credit. Jonah had a serious pride problem. It was always about his reputation. Apparently, he was something of a national hero, having successfully predicted that Jeroboam would restore Israel’s borders (2 Kings 14:25). But he tried to run from God and having been caught, he rose up and arrogantly stated “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” (Jonah 1:9) He then decided that it would look better for him to have died sacrificing himself to save a ship, than to be remembered as a runaway, but God had other plans.

Later, when faced again with the possibility of looking bad, he resorted a second time to extravagant suicidal ideation. “This change of plans upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people. Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive because nothing I predicted is going to happen.” (Jonah 4:1-3). There it is again – that death wish. He was upset because his predictions weren’t coming true. It was about pride!

Jonah continuously boxed himself in. He felt he had to maintain a certain image and that self-deception became his undoing. And in the process, he lost perspective of what was really important – people. People were coming to the Lord in repentance and confession of their sins. He was more upset over a dying plant that gave him shade than the destruction of 120,000 people.

We are all guilty (at times) of locking ourselves into boxes. As a pastor, it would be very easy for me to begin thinking I have to have the answers to life, the universe and everything. People come to me for counseling every day. They refer to me by my title and offer a certain amount of respect. But if I ever forget that I can make mistakes, I’ll be crowded into Jonah’s box too. I’ll lose perspective and think that it’s all about me and how I appear. I’ll begin thinking that my comfort, self-respect, image and reputation are more important than the people I serve. If that happens, I hope that God kills my shady plant too. Be careful! Don’t get stuck in Jonah’s box.