Breaking The Jonah CultureSample

A Culture Of Inclusivity

Jonah was a prophet to the chosen race of the Israelites—or so he thought. His loyalties were to his king and the people of his land. So when God asked him to go to a neighboring country, a people not saved and of fearsome reputation, he was perturbed at first, and then turned stubborn. His feeling of exclusivity was completely contrary to the nature of the God who he served. 

Exclusivity was never a part of God’s plan for His people. In fact, Jesus instructed his disciples (in Matthew) after his resurrection to “Go out into ALL the world and make disciples”. There were no limits or conditions to this command. 

Exclusivity creates a group within a group and is detrimental to the Kingdom of God. Exclusivity causes people to look down on those from a different race, different strata of society and sometimes different views from us. It will cause divisions by focusing on what divides us rather than what unites us.

The early church struggled with this too, and it needed to be nipped in the bud before it created a poisonous culture. Paul called out Peter and Barnabas, senior leaders, who had somehow got sidetracked into acting exclusive. Paul exhorts them to remember the premise on which all of them are saved, thereby urging them to stay inclusive of all. 

We, as the Church, have to be conscious in preventing an atmosphere of exclusivity as it could unfortunately hinder the expansion of the Kingdom of God.