Selfish and Prejudice Believers
God is not selfish. He is a Giver. He always gives us more than we deserve. God is not prejudice. He only judges people by the heart and not by their outward appearance or ethnic group. God loves everyone equally. He gives everyone in the world the opportunity to turn from their sins and trust the Lord as their personal Savior and Lord. God desires for us to be like Him in both of these ways. However, there are many people who claim to be believers, who are selfish and prejudiced. Jonah is a prime example. He did not want to go to Nineveh to preach God's message of doom, because he knew God was gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. (Jonah 4:2) Jonah did not want God to spare the people of Nineveh, because he was selfish and prejudiced. Please, let me explain.
When Jonah was thrown into the sea for rebelling against God and running from Him, he earnestly prayed for God to save his life and forgive his sin. Then, we found out that was a selfish prayer. He wanted those things for Himself, but he did not care if others came to know that God would do that for them. He wanted God's compassion for himself, not others. He wanted God to relent in sending disaster to him, but not Nineveh. I pray selfishness is not true of any of us. God hates that type of attitude. However, He hates prejudice just as much or more. God expects us to love all people, no matter how evil they have been or how much they have hurt us. Yes, the people of Nineveh were ruthless warriors who killed many people. They were the enemies of Jonah's people. However, it is wrong to hate our enemies. We are to love them and pray for God to save them. We should rejoice when they repent of their sins, and God relents from destroying them. That should be the goal of our prayers for all people. I pray that we will put away all prejudice from our lives, as well. Then, we can be much more like the Lord Jesus Christ, unselfish and giving unconditional love to all.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Micah 1-3.
When Jonah was thrown into the sea for rebelling against God and running from Him, he earnestly prayed for God to save his life and forgive his sin. Then, we found out that was a selfish prayer. He wanted those things for Himself, but he did not care if others came to know that God would do that for them. He wanted God's compassion for himself, not others. He wanted God to relent in sending disaster to him, but not Nineveh. I pray selfishness is not true of any of us. God hates that type of attitude. However, He hates prejudice just as much or more. God expects us to love all people, no matter how evil they have been or how much they have hurt us. Yes, the people of Nineveh were ruthless warriors who killed many people. They were the enemies of Jonah's people. However, it is wrong to hate our enemies. We are to love them and pray for God to save them. We should rejoice when they repent of their sins, and God relents from destroying them. That should be the goal of our prayers for all people. I pray that we will put away all prejudice from our lives, as well. Then, we can be much more like the Lord Jesus Christ, unselfish and giving unconditional love to all.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Micah 1-3.