A Rebel
I love Jonah. He is a really cool guy, kind of head strong with his own ideas on what he thinks this world needs. Jonah is pretty sure that this world does NOT need the likes of a dirty ole' city like Ninevah. He is not keen on the idea of going to such a scum filled place, so he runs.
Doing the right thing is hard. It can be difficult and burdensome, no one else is doing the right thing, so why should I? The right things take effort and planning, the right thing seldomly involves a short cut or for that matter, a lot of well deserved praise. The right thing is hard.
Yet, not doing the right thing often times brings more burdens in the long run. Take math for example, when doing a large math problem with many steps; when you make a mistake early on, the further from the right answer you will get and the more difficult it will be to fix it. Often, shorcuts lead to more trouble than it's worth.
In Jonah 1, Jonah runs. He chooses to do quite the opposite of God's call, because Jonah runs he causes himself and others pain, heartache and lots of undeserved troubles. Being a good steward with our time and finances is tough, but it's better than bankrupcy and/or high blood pressure. Loving people is hard, but it's better than losing a good friend or an opportunity to share God's Word. Following the rules our Government has in place can be burdensome but it's better than sharing a 6x6 prison cell with a guy named "Bubba."
Joshua gives us one of the greatest lines in scripture when he says in Joshua 24:15, "choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
