Breaking The Jonah CultureSýnishorn

A Culture Of Service

Jonah exhibits the symptoms of the serious sickness of selfishness. From preferring to drown at sea rather than preach to a ‘sinful’ race, from berating God for his mercy to screaming at God for taking away his shade plant, he is a classic case of being all about himself. It looks like a ‘my way or the highway’ kind of scenario. 

He would rather fixate on all that has not gone his way. How he knew God would let him down in the face of his enemies and that He would permit him to perish in the intense heat, rather than looking at the big picture—a picture of how this wasn’t about him, but about God’s redeeming love for the people and animals of Nineveh. 

Jonah’s insignificance in the entire story is only accentuated by a people repenting, wholly based on a one-line sermon spoken by the prophet. The message is vague, cryptic, and crisp to the point of being dry, and yet it hits the mark. 

So often we make the gospel about ourselves. We make church about ourselves. It really is not! The gospel is about Jesus and His love for all mankind. The gospel is about his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection through which eternity was secured for us. The church is God’s answer to humanity’s problems. The church is about welcoming the lost and leading them to Jesus.

The Corinthian Church was divided over different groups being attached to different apostles, and leaders forgetting that Jesus was central to everything. While Paul and Apollos were vital to their faith and maturity, they were only instruments of God for the task at hand. 

It was God, and only God, who brought about salvation to people and growth to the church. This should change our attitude from that of observers and consumers to that of team players and facilitators. Transformation is brought about by the Holy Spirit. We are only channels through which God works, should we allow him. 

Romans 15:1-2 (MSG version ) says this: '...Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves “How can I help?”'

Selfishness stalls the work of the body of Christ. As disciples of Christ, we must offer to serve others selflessly and allow God to work in and through them.