How to Not Get Angry When It Doesn’t Feel Fair: Jonah’s Anger vs. God’s Anger
“Jonah had a real and valid grievance. And that’s the point: God does not correct Jonah because he was wrong about what would have been just or fair. He corrects Jonah because Jonah was so focused on what was fair, he had no compassion.”
I love the story of Jonah. Mostly because it’s a story. The book of Jonah does not tell us about anger. It shows us anger. Specifically it shows us two different angers: Jonah’s and God’s. What we will see from the Jonah story is how growing in compassion transforms our anger. This series will be in three parts. 1) Jonah’s Anger. 2) God’s Anger 3) How to Grow Compassion.
Let’s look at Jonah’s anger
Why does Jonah get angry?
Let’s follow Jonah’s story from his perspective. Nineveh is the enemy of Israel. They are more powerful than Israel, and the Israelites are under threat from them. Then God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. But Jonah knows something about God: God is full of compassion. So Jonah knows that there is a chance that if Jonah proclaims the word of God in Ninevah, and the Ninevites repent, that God would not bring wrath on Jonah’s enemy. And that is exactly what ends up happening: God shows compassion.
Sometimes it’s hard to connect with the “I’m angry because my political enemies didn’t get smote” feeling Jonah is having… then again, sometimes it’s not. Either way, once we have understood things from Jonah’s perspective, it can be helpful to strip away all the specifics of the biblical situation and then look for this “bare bones” structure in your life.
Here is Jonah’s logic:
- Something is against me. (In Jonah’s case: his enemy The Ninevites)
- Because it is against me, I want it punished.
- I’m not getting what I want, and I’m angry!
What do you think about this logic? Childish? Foolish? Unholy?
Is it relatable? Where do you see this logic in your life? Where do you get angry because someone or something feels like it is against you? “Something is transgressing my will, and I want to punish it.” Are there places where you get angry for the basic reason that you don’t get what you want?
It’s Not an Anger Problem. It’s a Compassion Problem.
God corrects Jonah a surprising way: God starts talking about compassion. When God asks Jonah: “Do you do well to be angry,” notice the assumptions of this question: 1) there are some things that we would do well, maybe even very well, to be angry about. 2) this situation is not one of them. Which brings up an important question: WHY shouldn’t Jonah be angry? The Ninevites were bad people. The entire reason God sent Jonah in the first place was the sins of the Ninevites “have come up before [the Lord]”(Jonah 1.1-2). Even the King of Ninevah recognized the evil in the city (Jonah 3.8). It’s not like Jonah was just racist against the Ninevites and wanted to see them suffer because he relishes in other people’s pain. What Jonah wanted was actually to see justice done. People who do bad things deserve divine wrath. The Ninevites were bad people. They deserve divine wrath. Jonah had a real and valid grievance. And that’s the point: God does not correct Jonah because he was wrong about what would have been just or fair. He corrects Jonah because Jonah was so focused on what was fair, he had no compassion.
In anger the things that feel unfair blind us to being compassionate. Our sense of right and wrong makes us forget the people in front of us. Yes, we need ways to calm ourselves down when we are angry, but what will transform us is to grow in compassion. You could look at what Jonah did and say he was using his anger management skills pretty well. He walked away from the situation, relaxed and grounded his body by finding a place to sit, and his heart was still seething because he hadn’t grown in compassion.
How do we grow in compassion? The first step is to revel in the compassion that was shown to us. Let’s think about the gospel. If God had been more focused on what is fair than on you and me, we would be toast. Grace is radically unfair. In a sense, In order to give grace, Jesus laid aside what was fair. When faced with a situation that felt unfair, Jonah despaired of life itself. Jesus on the other hand, entered into this world knowing full well he was walking into the most unfair situation in history. In order to have our anger transformed, we must grow in this compassion that puts people first.
Don’t we often feel slighted at seemingly small things? God calls us to have compassion in our hearts. Sometimes we feel offended at actually big things where we have legitimate complaints. God still calls us to have compassion in our hearts. The same kind of compassion He gave to us.
