Read: Jonah 1-4, John 3:30, and 1 Samuel 16:7
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
So many times people judge by what they see. If we behave according to someone’s standard, we are considered a good person. If we don’t fit that mold, we believe God couldn’t be pleased with us. As a society, we obsess over appearance, comparing ourselves to the airbrushed images on magazines and personalities on television. So much focus is placed on the individual. As Christians, we too, can place excessive thought on ourselves. Wrapped up in our trials, shortcomings and imperfections, we lose focus.
This was Jonah’s problem. God saves Jonah from death, gives him a second chance and forgives the people of Nineveh when they repent, yet Jonah can’t see past himself. He even argues with God and lays blame on Him. Jonah becomes angry at God and pouts because things don’t go as he would have planned. He becomes focused on himself rather than God’s blessings.
This life is not about us. A follower of Jesus wants God’s will to prevail more than his own. He values God’s opinion over man’s opinion and is more concerned with living a life that pleases God than trying to follow a list of rules. Yes, followers of Jesus can get off track and lose focus, but you have to ask, “Where is my heart? Do I truly want the focus of my life on me or God?”
