Angry for a Gourd
Jonah 4:9
"And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death."
In a far away village was a young man who was physically challenged. This young man spent his days gathering scraps of food. The village people would scoff at this young man because they thought he was running down their village with his presence. So, they voted that he could not gather any scraps during the daylight hours.
One day the young man died a sudden death. To the relief of the villagers he would no longer bother them. When they went to where this young man lived, they found out that this young man was not gathering the scraps for himself, but he was gathering the scraps for the elderly who had no one to care for them. These people were ashamed of themselves because they realized that they were more interested in their city looking good than they were for a person who was interested in helping people.
The story of Jonah and the gourd is very similar. After Jonah finished his day of warning Nineveh, he went outside the city to watch its destruction. You see, Jonah hated these people. He didn't want God to save the city. His hopes were that this city would be utterly destroyed. To his dismay, the inhabitants of the city heeded his preaching and got right with God. The action of the people caused God not to destroy their city. Because of this, Jonah became upset with God and went and sat outside the city. As he sat pouting, God prepared a gourd to shade him from the sunlight. However, the next day the gourd died and Jonah got upset with God over letting the gourd die. God asked Jonah, "Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" Jonah was more concerned over the gourd than he was over the souls of the people of Nineveh. How sad that material things were more important to Jonah than the souls of people.
Christian, are you more concerned over losing your material things than you are for people? It's amazing how angry parents get with their children when they break something of value, but they never have any emotion when someone dies and goes to Hell. It's sad that Christians are more wrapped up in their valuables than they are with people who need someone to care.
Let me ask you, are you more concerned with things or people? Are your things of more value than the souls of men? All around you are people who need someone to care. Yet, too many Christians are more wrapped up in their vehicles, clothing, houses and activities than they are with people. I'm not saying that these things are bad, but people need someone to care. David said in Psalm 142:4, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." Would David have said this if you were in his area?
Let me remind you that all around you are people who need you to care. As you go throughout your day, you will come across the path of people who need to get saved. You will come across the path of people who need someone to listen to their broken heart. You will come across the path of someone who simply needs someone to show interest in them. Don't be so wrapped up in your things that you forget that life is truly about what you can do for others. Let the importance of your things take second place to the needs of others. Let your eyes be open and your ears alert to the needs of those around you. Let your daily life be filled with caring for the needs of others.