Based on Jonah and the Minors: Chapter 8—Spit Out
Juliette Alvey
Dear Grown-up,
There is a strange phenomenon that occurs with kids that I’m guessing many of you have experienced. You treat your kids to something special, like going out for ice cream or going on a fun outing to an amusement park, and rather than thanking you for sacrificing your time and money purely for their enjoyment, they act grumpy. Not only are they grumpy, which is understandable if they’re tired or have had too much sugar, but they are also ungrateful. They may even have complaints about the gift, such as, “I wanted the large,” or “My flavor wasn’t as good as my sister’s,” or “The lines were so long, I wanted to go on MORE rides.” It can feel like a waste to spend our time or money on gifts that are not appreciated.
This is kind of where Jonah is with the Lord in our story today. He has endured a storm, being in the belly of a whale, and delivering a message to his enemies. The mission is complete. And now he finally enjoys some much-needed shade from a fig tree. You would think he would feel grateful for this gift, but he does not. He is too busy being grumpy. Then God takes away the only thing that was making life bearable by sending a worm to eat the tree he is under, slowly eating away “Jonah’s” shade.
Jonah’s grumpiness did not come from having shade or not having shade. It went deeper than that. He was angry at God for showing mercy to his enemies. By taking away Jonah’s shade, God demonstrates to Jonah that he is not the one who created that shade in the first place—or the one who gave out the gifts. Jonah’s attitude was not going to change God’s love for him or for the people of Nineveh. All it did was make Jonah miserable.
How many times have we heard the phrase, “That’s not fair! He got more than me!” That is basically Jonah in a nutshell. When others appear to have more than us, or receive something we don’t think they deserve, we grumble at God. As a parent, when I have a full box of ice cream in the freezer, and one of my kids is complaining about someone else getting more, I remind them that 1) they did not buy this ice cream, 2) I am the one giving out the ice cream, and 3) there is more.
God does not change his gifts based on our attitudes. Whether we say thank you or not, the gift has already been given. He already gave us life through his son. Being grumpy cannot take that away. When Jesus healed the ten lepers, only one of them came back, but all of them were healed (Luke 17:11-19). God’s love is lavish, and he pours it over the entire world. It never runs out. We do not need to worry that someone else got more than us or didn’t deserve what they received. It is God’s gift to give, and he loves all of us, even when we are grumpy.
