Jonah

Jonah, the one swallowed by the whale for three days, reminds me of myself at my worst, and maybe you too.  He is all about Jonah.  He does not give a hoot for God or for anyone else.  He thinks he knows how things should be and so he lives centered on himself.  Sound familiar?  He is supposed to be a believer but only acts according to his will and not his God's will.  He thinks a town of people, Nineveh, are beneath him and they should suffer for their lifestyle.  Why help them?  Mercy? Compassion? The common good?  Forget it.  Jonah Justice is what he wants, and he is the judge.  So he heads away from Nineveh and ignores his God's request to go tell them to repent.  He gets into a storm on a ship and just goes to sleep while everyone else is frightened and praying to their gods for help.  He just does not care.  And when he finally comes out of the whale, goes to Nineveh and tells them to repent, they do, and are spared.  He is angry that they did not get punished.  He is not getting his way and just wants to die in the desert.  Jonah reminds me of just what bad behavior and attitude is.