4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” 

We have the situation of God providing shade for Jonah. He not only provided the shady plant, but then He also produced the worm which came and ate the plant at just the right place to cause it to whither and die. Jonah cries again, “Woe is me; I’m better off dead” 

Then came the question from the Lord, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” He adds a word for emphasis that changes the question. “Not only what right do you, of all people, have to be angry for my mercy toward people, but now how can you be so angry over something so petty as not having shade from the plant?” What is so significant as a plant?  Does Jonah have more grief over the death of a plant than eternal loss of people’s souls.  Surely, the plant was used to bring comfort. You’ll notice that Jonah was exceedingly glad for the plant to save him from the heat and sun. It is true that little things can make a difference for us little conveniences are sorely missed.            

When I go camping, I am more appreciative of having running water and electric appliances. I enjoy a warm shower and the conveniences. If it is cold, I just turn the handle to get warmth. How I enjoy turning a key and have my car start. When these things don’t work right, I get upset over the inconvenience, expense and time is wasted. Isn’t life horrible? I don’t think of the fact that I have health or money to get them repaired, or I’m well fed. I just concentrate on the conveniences I do not have and that puts me in a sour mood. How about you? 

God is posing this type of question before Jonah. “You are suffering when something is taken which I gave you as a gift for your temporary comfort. But I, your Lord, suffer for that which I created in my image.” Jonah was more concerned about a little plant than he was about the great city of Nineveh. He was more concerned about selfish needs than the needs that are life to others. 

That is the attitude expressed by many Americans. In all our wealth and luxuries; we are more concerned about our comforts than people dying of starvation or are lost without the gospel. Annually youth at church go without food for 30 hours to help them understand what many in the world are going through, so hearts might be more compassionate. The question needs to be poised to us as well that we might do some inner evaluation. We like to say God is not fair, but if He wasn’t most of us would lose much of our material goods to be redistributed to the bulk of the world’s people who are without. You and I have been super blessed. So, when you think of the fairness of God, think of those in need and especially the need to hear the good news. 

What are the petty issues that capture our time and money? Sure, it is petty and self-centered, but it is real. It’s like the man who had a hard day at the office and comes home and yells at his wife, who is angry at her husband, but yells at the kids, who are angry at Mom but kicks the dog. Anger grows and grows so that soon we are angry people bitter and unhappy with chips on our shoulders ready to fight the world. 

I think of a friend who takes tragedies fairly well, but you should hear him when he breaks a shoelace or a button pops off his shirt. He swears like a trooper. He gets all out of sorts when a car passes him or beats him at a light. Little things, petty things anger him when life doesn’t go his way. 

We experience things in life so that God might break our spirits and we might depend on Him. Jonah’s spirit needed broken in the stomach of a great fish and more work needed to be done in his life in the wilderness. God is never done teaching us things. 

The fact that the plant died made him so angry he wanted to die.  God sometimes takes some things from us to wake us up. Is He addressing our pettiness? 

Prayer:  Oh Lord, remove my pettiness.  

Dale