Jonah: The Bigot

In the 1960’s the church deacon board mobilized lookout squads, and on Sundays these took turns patrolling the entrances lest any black “troublemakers” try to integrate us. I still have one of the cards the deacons printed up to give to any civil rights demonstrators who might appear:

Believing the motives of your group to be ulterior and foreign to the teaching of God’s word, we cannot extend a welcome to you and respectfully request you to leave the premises quietly. Scripture does NOT teach “the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God.” He is the Creator of all, but only the Father of those who have been regenerated. If any one of you is here with a sincere desire to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we shall be glad to deal individually with you from the Word of God. (Unanimous Statement of Pastor and Deacons, August 1960)

When Congress passed the Civil Rights Acts, our church founded a private school as a haven for whites, expressly barring all black students. A few “liberal” members left the church in protest when the kindergarten turned down the daughter of a black Bible professor, but most of us approved of the decision. A year later the church board rejected a Carver Bible Institute student for membership (his name was Tony Evans).

Phillip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Zondervan, 1977, p. 131

We say, that was the 1960’s we have come so far since then, and I would heartily agree — however with the recent turn of events, I would venture to say we have not come far enough.

Where I grew up there were two Free Holiness churches. By Free Holiness they tried to maintain an independent culture. Some of that has changed over the years, but what was so interesting is they where only a couple of miles away from each other. One was in Whiteside the other in Eolia. Whiteside was the white church Eolia was the black church. They would fellowship some but that’s pretty well the way it was.

Now tonight I want to address some of these Racial and as in the case of Jonah Nationalistic Ideas.

I am in no way trying to be political I am attempting to stimulate conversation.

My wife and I have had many conversations and do not always agree and that is fine - but I tell you what she asked me a question the other day that through all of my thoughts out the window. Here is what she asked me-

“Do we have any proof that Chauvin the officer accused of murdering George Floyd acted because of racial prejudice or just excessive force, or just because he is a violent person.?”

Well I don’t know that, and can’t find any, and don’t think its fair that everyone isn’t asking that. We have jumped myself included onto the bandwagon that because it white on black crime that he was doing it because of race, but honestly we don’t know that.

But I do know that Jonah had some issues.

The writer of the book - which we are never told, simply begins a narrative of a man named Jonah who was called by God to go to Nineveh.

Next we are simply to that Jonah “Rose up to flee unto Tarshish” but we are not told right away the reason. We have to wait until chapter 4.

Listen to why Jonah ran from the presence of the Lord.

“And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:2–3, KJV 1900)

What Jonah is saying here is that the Ninevehites were not worthy of God’s grace and mercy.

They deserved what was coming to them.

Now this is not a black and white issue, this is a head and heart issue.

How are we at loving everyone? This is really the question.

Love doesn’t look down to someone else because you are better in any way.

Love doesn’t put you in a different class that someone else -

Love doesn’t treat a person bad because they treated you bad either in their mind or in reality.

Now aren’t I telling you the truth? These are things that Jesus taught--

Love and self-rightousness cannot co-exist

Love and misunderstood truth and reality can co-exist

Jonah was suffering from a terrible case of prejudiced opinions.

I’ve always been bothered by the way Jonah ends -

The last two verses read:

“Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10–11, KJV 1900)

Jonah cared more about the gourd a plant than he did the people the thousands of people of Nineveh - he would have been happy if they would have recieved their just desserts - but grace and mercy no way.

I don’t want to end up like Jonah, I hope he was straightened out and some think so - we might get to that another time -

but the book leaves us hanging and thinking -

Jonah & The Elder Brother

I want to be careful of how I not only treat people, but how I think about people.

I made a conscious effort to never tell my kids a story about the “Big Black Boogey Man” who might come and get them.

And yet, I catch myself passing negative opinions on other people.

Perhaps you would have a question or comment or story to share about this tonight???