I Am Jonah

I Am Jonah

As this new year begins, it has inspired me to take a look at my life and try to learn from my mistakes. Part of that process is looking at my spiritual life and trying to assess how effective I have been in my fellowship with the Lord and I have discovered that I have something in common with the prophet Jonah.

Jonah was the prophet in the bible who was swallowed by a big fish for trying to run away from God. He was sent on a mission to Nineveh to witness to the people. Jonah deliberately went in a different direction to try to avoid what God wanted him to do. He was eventually cast off the boat he was on and the Lord allowed a "big fish" to swallow him and deliver him to Nineveh.

Jonah spent a total of three days and nights in the fish for his disobedience and during that time he prayed.

So, how do I have anything in common with Jonah, simple. I to have made mistakes and gone one way when the Lord wanted me to go another. I have been hard headed and I have paid the price.

For a Christian, listening to God is like on the job training. We listen and follow so we might learn how to properly do His will. God gives HIs followers that which we need to carry out His commands.

But if we do not listen, if we let problems and desires blind us, then we break fellowship with God. That is when more problems crop up. Christians know that we do not have what it takes to handle everything on our own. And with God in our lives we do not have to.

Psalm 23: 1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

These verses show that the Lord is a Christians shepherd, our leader. The green pastors and still waters show God's protection and His provision for us. He leads us in the paths of righteousness and he restores our soul.

Jonah, did go to Nineveh and he did preach repentence. The people accepted God's generous offer and were saved. Jonah though was angry, even unto death and the story ends with God rebuking him.

Why would a prophet of God go out of his way to be as uncooperative as Jonah was? Jonah did have faith in God and did willingly profess that. In Jonah chapter 1 verse 9 Jonah states "And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land."

Jonah then acknowledged that the storm that the sailors were encountering was his fault and told them to throw him overboard to cause the sea to cease her raging. That's when the fish swallowed him.

Jonah allowed his personal feelings and his bitternes toward the Ninevites blind him to What God wanted. We then actively sought to evade God and go his own way. But God had a misson for Jonah and Jonah did carry that mission out and millions of lives were spared.

It may surprise some to learn that Jonah wrote the book bearing his name. He wrote about the Lord's will and his bitterness. That must mean he did repent of his anger sometime after the events actually happened.

We all sin and come short of the glory of God, but it is what we do afterward that shows how close our fellowship is with God. Do we stay angry and keep sinning, or do we repent and let the Lord guide us? Do we thoughtlessly keep making the same mistakes and keep getting into trouble, or learn from them and avoid them next time around with the Lord's guidance?

Every person and every situation is different. But it should be comforting to know that while we change, and the world around us changes. God and his love and mercy are always present and unchanging. He will bless us with forgiveness and allow us to repent if we ask in faith.

Happy New Year Everyone. And may God bless and enrich your lives.

The Flag

The Conundrum of Old Glory

This is not going to be a popular topic for anyone but I want to shake things up a bit with my point of view concerning our flag.

I was watching a show earlier that had a mob persecuting an individual who desecrated a flag by burning it. That reminded me of the many court battles and outrage expressed when someone tries to make a point by roasting a flag.

This land is supposed to be about freedom. The wars fought for this country are to guarantee certain freedoms. The soldiers who fought and died did so to guarantee our right to be free. Freedom means each of us can do certain things without fear or retribution as long as our actions do not hurt others.

With that in mind, if an individual feels the right to express his disdain for this country and others like him join in and protest in a non-violent manner but torch a flag to prove a point, he is guaranteed that right by this government. People do not have to like his actions, but they need to respect his right to protest.

The boisterous buffoons who like to shout "America, love it or leave it" are missing the point. As odd as it sounds we have the right to like or even dislike this country, or at least certain aspects. And we have the right to protest and even express our opinions by roasting a flag. This would constitute a non-violent form of protest since no one is being physically injured by another persons actions.

If anyone actually went to war and risked their lives and killed other men "for the flag", then they were fools. To me fighting for the flag is the same as fighting for a Van Halen t-shirt. Both are colored cloth and each one has a special meaning to someone, not everyone, but neither are worth dying over.

I refuse to believe that all the soldiers in the last century who died defending the freedoms we enjoy did so for the flag. I refuse to believe that the soldiers in Korea, Germany, Vietnam, and Iraq went there to fight for our flag. I refuse to believe that those who were maimed in various wars were proud to have lost a limb defending the flag. I refuse to believe that the wives and orphans of slain soldiers were proud that their loved ones died defending a colored piece of cloth.

I would defend my family, I would defend my home, I would defend my rights, but I do not see all those wrapped up so nice and neat in our nations flag. I am just not that patriotic. I would defend my right to chose, and I would defend others rights of speech and liberty. But again each of those liberties means something different to someone else.

It's nice that the flag is supposed to stand for all the best aspects of this country. But in setting up icons that are reminiscent of freedom, you are also giving people the freedom to complain, not conform that's the "tails" side of freedom. You have to take the good with the bad.

Besides, freedom, in my opinion, is subjective. The flag may represent different things to different people. A disgruntled soldier torching a flag has a different opinion of what that flag and his own personal freedom represents. And his opinion, his ideals and morals probably differ compared to the average guy off the streets. Different people see things with different perspectives.

Freedom is also about individuality. No one has to love and own the flag. No one has to say the pledge of allegiance. No one has to salute the flag, and no one should be "forced" to conform to any ideals of freedom. And no one should have to worry about feeling guilty or out of place for not "conforming" to someone else’s standards of what freedom is or how it should be applied.

Freedom is about doing what you want, within the law, not about what you are forced or required to do. If the choice to cherish something is made for you, you are not free.For example, the U.S. flag code states: "During a rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform, should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart."

Now, is this a suggestion or a polite command? Different people may interpret it differently depending on their attitude at the time. Some people may have done this all their live, and some people like me made a conscious decision many years ago to not follow this "suggestion."

Freedom is also about having and using your own mind and coming to your own conclusions whether others agree or not. Freedom is about personal choice, not guilt or dogma. The American dream is not a unilateral standard, it changes from person to person as does the definition of what freedom is and what it means to us as individuals.

Now, I am not saying, by any means, that we should be torching flags right and left. I am not saying flag burning needs to be enjoyed as a new entertaining past time. All I am saying is that personal freedom and personal points of view can not be standardized.

And people may not like a contrary point of view regarding this topic, but the right to protest and express one’s self is guaranteed in the constitution. And some people need to just deal with it.

Now, as far as I am concerned I do not care either way. Fly your flag proudly or use it to light your next cook out. It’s just a piece of cloth.