But I Don't Want To...

Delivered May 30, 2008

Reference Jonah 1

Jonah isn’t exactly anybody’s favorite Bible story character is he? Well maybe for the humor involved, but in all reality, isn’t Jonah just a whiney little brat. God tells him to go to Nineveh, he says no and runs in the other direction. He’s swallowed by a great fish, he’s spit out onto the shore. He finally does what God tells him to and then he gets mad at God for not smiting the Ninevites and wants to die. He’s just a bit over dramatic don’t you think.

For a humorous parallel illustration of Jonah, watch Seinfeld, season 5 episode 3 - The Puffy Shirt.

Watch from 10:11-11:46

So Kramer’s girlfriend is what Seinfeld coins as a low-talker. Somebody that talks at such a low volume that you can’t hear what he or she is saying.
In Jerry’s interest at being pleasant and agreeable, he nods and says sure to whatever the low-talker “says” and He ignorantly agrees to wear the puffy shirt on national TV, which I believe was the first artifact from a television show to be showcased in the Smithsonian institute.
The puffy shirt, the ridiculous ruffled, frilled up, pirate shirt. And in Jerry’s hope to escape, knowing that he’ll be heckled endlessly for wearing this shirt, and being the “First pirate” he utters in desperation, but I don’t want to be a pirate.

Amazingly it would seem that Jerry appears better than Jonah in his actions. Jonah hears the Lord loud and clear and runs the other direction in effect saying, much like Jerry, “But I don’t want to go to Nineveh” while Jerry, doesn’t hear a word the low-talker says, agrees to something not so pleasant and goes through with it.

But this attitude of whining, complaining at what they are supposed to do is very much an underlying theme and problem for many of us today.

I believe a growing attitude in America has become, “I’m only going to do what I want to do.” People don’t want to be encumbered by anything other than their own personal agendas and I would count myself among that crowd. I don’t want to help you with your snow shoveling, I have 9 seasons of Seinfeld to watch, why would I help you?

No matter what we want to do or don’t want to do, Christ does what is right in the lives of his people, regardless of our complaining and whining.

And the Lord is impossible to run from. Which Jonah found out the hard way. What I take away from Jonah’s story is that God will put you where he wants you on this earth, whether you like it or not. You can resist, but to what point and to what end? Resisting God’s will got Jonah swallowed by a great fish. And we know from Scripture that resisting the Holy Spirit can be detrimental to our eternal salvation.

Perhaps the word of the lord doesn’t come as clearly to any of us as it did to Jonah, and then again perhaps it does. But it is comforting on some level to know that while the word of the lord may come and we may not hear it clearly, the Lord doesn’t stop speaking. He is ever persistent with his word. As Christ says in Matthew, Mark, and Luke “Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

So it is good to know that while we may miss God’s words from time to time, they will always remain, just as he promises to always remain with us, Amen.