We can learn from the Book of Jonah about a missionary’s attitude since he embodies almost all that a missionary’s attitude should not be. Here are some areas where we should search our own hearts about how we view those to whom we minister in our mission field.
Jonah’s disdain for the Assyrians bordered on outright hatred. He was brought up in the culture of Israel to look upon the Assyrians as those who had brutally treated his people and whose lifestyle was the height of wickedness. (Jonah 1:2) The thought of even speaking to the Assyrians about turning in repentance to the God of Israel was revolting to him. He would rather see the city of Nineveh destroyed and thousands of women and children die than give them the benefit of hearing about God’s offer of mercy. He made the clear choice to act on his prejudice and disobey God by running in the opposite direction. (Jonah 1:3)
The total destruction of a large city and all its inhabitants whose fate depended on him didn’t seem to bother him. When the people did turn to the LORD he was angry with God because things didn’t go as he thought they should have. (Jonah 4:1) The book ends with Jonah showing more compassion on a wilted plant than on people. (Jonah 4:9-11)
Is it possible that our prejudice could determine who we witness to or how far we are willing to go out of our way to share the Gospel? A missionary attitude is one that sees individuals as those in need of hearing about Jesus Christ, regardless of what they have done, what they look like, where they are from, how they are dressed, etc. How sad it is to visit missionaries in a foreign country and hear them speak about “those people” in a disparaging or condescending way. We can do the same thing when we rationalize avoiding certain parts of town in our door-to-door ministry or emphasize a preference for going to countries that are “more like us” to share the Gospel. God is not a respecter of persons (II Chronicles 19:7) and it is His desire that we see people the same way. (James 2:1; 3:13-18)
Lack of compassion is obvious in Jonah’s ability to walk away from an opportunity to tell the people of Nineveh about the One True God who was willing to forgive them and spare them if they repented. The fact that he didn’t care is both amazing and puzzling. How could he be given such a wonderful opportunity but walk (run!) away in the opposite direction? As those who have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:18-19) we must walk (run!) toward our mission field with genuine, heartfelt compassion and caring.
Beyond lack of compassion is Jonah’s attitude of insensitivity and indifference. He was quite direct in his refusal to obey God and it was even a hindrance to his testimony before the pagan sailors with whom he traveled. (Jonah 1:10) When we leave our country to go to a people for whom Christ died we need to be sensitive to their spiritual needs. When a people are steeped in a culture of immorality and enslaved to pagan religions systems we need to be sensitive to them as individual souls in need of a Savior. It might be easy to be so repulsed by a people’s sin that we think they are not “worthy” of our suffering to tell them how they can be saved from their sin. But that didn’t keep Jesus Christ from suffering death on the cross to pay for our sins, did it? (Romans 5:8)
If we sometimes find ourselves acting like Jonah we need to confess this to God and view those in our mission field as opportunities to show a spirit of compassion, care, and sensitivity for their eternal souls.
