At church last Sunday, the pastor preached about Jonah. Two of his insights, in particular, stayed with me during the week.
The first insight was that, just because an opportunity opens up that
appears beneficial to us, that doesn’t mean it’s from God. Jonah was
disobeying God, and, lo and behold, there was a ship that could take him
away, and a place where he could sleep! An opportunity opened up for
Jonah that offered him comfort, but Jonah still was outside of the will
of God. Similarly, suppose that we get a promotion that requires more
hours of work and takes away our time with God? Is that really from
God?
Confession time. On the way home from church, for whatever reason, I
had a desire to listen to a Mark Driscoll sermon. Remember Mark
Driscoll? He left the Mars Hill Church due to controversies.
To my surprise, he now has a church in Arizona, where he pastors and
preaches. And why not? He has a gift and should be allowed to use it,
even if he has made mistakes in the past and many people can’t stand
him. Just because there are people who can’t stand him, that doesn’t
mean he’s obligated to crawl under a rock for the rest of his life!
(And, by the way, I say the same about Trump!)
Anyway, I visited Mark Driscoll’s web site
after coming home from church, and what do you think Mark Driscoll has
been preaching about the last two weeks? Jonah! And Mark Driscoll made
a similar point to what the pastor at my church said: that, just
because an opportunity opens up, that doesn’t mean it’s from God. We
want money and there is an opportunity for us to steal? That is not
from God! We want a romantic relationship, and an opportunity for a
romantic relationship with a non-believer opens up? Not from God!
I doubt that the pastor at my church got that idea about ungodly
opportunities from Mark Driscoll. The pastor has made that point in
sermons before, so it’s his own idea. But I suspect that the pastor at
my church got the connection of that idea with the Book of Jonah from
Mark Driscoll’s sermon. I can’t prove it! And, to be clear, I’m not
accusing the pastor of plagiarizing: there are clear differences between
his sermon and that of Mark Driscoll! The pastor probably did what a
lot of pastors do: explore commentaries and sermons to get insights for
his own sermon.
Anyway, that point in the pastor’s sermon has been swimming in my
mind as part of a larger discussion in my head concerning what I truly
value. One of the books that I am reading right now is Daniel
Henderson’s The Prayer God Loves to Answer. Henderson says
that we should value God and people more than money. When we are dying,
don’t we want people around us who care about us? And people on the
verge of death never regret that they failed to spend more time at the
office!
I really had to think about this! In a sense, I do value money more
than people. I don’t particularly care for people, especially their
snark, sarcasm, and cliquishness. Money, at least, can grant me
security and the ability to enjoy the hobbies and interests that I want
to enjoy, even if I don’t like people and people don’t like me. So
which do I value more?
And do I value money more than spirituality? Well, I’m not that good
at spirituality, to be honest, so, in a sense, the answer is “yes.” I
may be far from perfect in terms of my Christian life and my character
(i.e., I struggle with resentment and forming relationships), but, if I
have the security that money can bring, then I can be content!
And yet, would I be truly happy? I mean, if I am working all the
time at menial tasks, would I be able to do as many of the things that I
enjoy, the things that feed my soul? Reading. Watching shows. Going
to church. I will work diligently when given a chance, but I do think
that an enjoyable life is a balance between work and pursuing the things
that feed the soul.
The second insight in the pastor’s sermon concerned the fruit of
Jonah’s ministry. Jonah preached, and Nineveh repented! Jonah got to
be part of something larger than himself. Similarly, when we obey God,
we are blessed!
(By the way, I think that’s how my mind got onto Mark Driscoll on my
walk home from church. The pastor was saying that he himself is not
important, and that, if he goes, God will raise someone else to preach
the word. What is important is the word, not personalities! That made
me think about how some churches fold after a charismatic preacher
leaves. An example that came to my mind of that sort of phenomenon was
Mark Driscoll!)
Of course, Jonah in the Book of Jonah did not particularly feel
blessed after Nineveh repented, which is why God had to instruct Noah
about the value of the people and animals in Nineveh, so that Jonah
might see the situation as God did. Still, I am attracted to the idea
of being part of something useful, something bigger than myself.
Over the years, I have pulled back from “witnessing” to others, since
that has long seemed rather artificial to me, at least when I try to do
it. That can be said for many of my attempts to be a good
evangelical! Appealing to God’s commands does not change that, so the
“obey, obey, obey” mantra in many sermons on Jonah does not impact me
that much! I figure that I tried, I failed, so let’s move on! Berating
me as disobedient won’t change anything!
The pastor was saying, though, that if God calls us to a task, that
must mean that God knows that there is something within us that makes us
a fit for that task, something that can enable us for it. He also said
that God may see things in us that we do not acknowledge in ourselves.
Maybe. That is worth considering.
I would like to leave the comments open. But I will close them
because I don’t want to get into a debate about Mark Driscoll and Trump!