Four Sisters

 Once there were four sisters: Hands, Mouth, Eyes and Feet.

Hands was very busy. She cooked and cleaned. She bought and sold. She was very giving to everyone around her. If something needed done- anything at all- Hands was there to do it.

Mouth was, of course, always talking. She loved to hang out with Hands. She would taste the food she made and encourage her in whatever she did. She was the one to announce when dinner was done, or that no one should go into the kitchen because Hands was busy and not to be disturbed.

Eyes was quiet and still. Her best friend was a dear little soul named: Heart. Eyes wouldn't DO much of anything, but no one seemed to be bothered by that fact. The other sisters would often seek her out. "What do you see Eyes?" Mouth would ask. Eyes would show her a mess that needed cleaning, or a friend who needed help, or maybe a guest who needed help bringing in their luggage. And mouth would happily announce to everyone what Eyes had seen. 

Feet never wanted to stay in one place. "Let's GOOOO!" she often said, dragging her sisters along. "We shouldn't just stay home. Other people need our help too. There are many places to wander. Many new sites to explore. What good is being able to cook, if you only feed those closest to you? What good is it to have a beautiful message, or song, if only your sisters are listening? What good is it to notice only what is in your little corner?" Sometimes she ran so quickly that: Eyes could not see what was around her; Mouth didn't get a chance to chat with anyone; and Hands wasn't able to complete anything satisfactorily. 

One day the sisters got together to chat. Feet was skipping around the room like a little fawn. "Oh, dear little Feet," the sisters said. "We cannot keep up with you. We have jobs to do as well as you. -not everything can be done on the run!" 

Feet didn't want to listen. (Besides, that was brother Ears job.) She continued to skip around. Little Heart (who always seemed to be around, though rarely seen) got excited! Soon Eyes, Mouth and even Hands, joined in the fun. It WAS fun just to play, and it was great exercise for everyone. But suddenly Eyes saw something, and told Mouth, who announced to everyone: "Mom's home!"

"Oh no." they all said and stopped their play.  

Their chores were not done. 

Mom came in and smiled at her rosy-cheeked daughters. 

"It looks like you are having fun!"

"Yes, Mama, but we didn't get our chores done." Mouth confessed.

"It's okay." Mama said. "It's hard to get anything done without Brain here to tell us what to do."

So, right there, in that messy living room, the four sisters stopped their play and knelt down to pray. "God, what do you want us to do today?" they asked. 

Hands folded. Mouth was quiet. Eyes didn't peek. Even Feet stood still to wait for the answer (though I think her toes were still wiggling - just a bit).

That ended up being the best day ever!

                        ....and I think we all know why!

The Righteous Man Whose Soul was Vexed

 Maybe you have experienced it too.

You find yourself in a place, surrounded by people who are the opposite of honest and trustworthy.

You are for peace, but they are for war.

They laugh at evil and trick others into joining them in their riotous ways.

"Riotous" behavior is opposite of "Righteous" behavior.

People compare modern cities to Sodom and Gomorrah, but I don't know of any place on earth as selfish, pleasure-seeking and cruel as the people in those cities where Lot and his family lived. None of us are without sin. -to a certain extent, we all live for ourselves. But these people lacked any feeling of care for their fellowman. Cruel and heartless! -not just a few people, but everyone in the whole area!

They laughed at Lot when he tried to warn them. "Who are you to judge us?" (Gen. 10:9) the men accused Lot. "You aren't even from around here!"

Ugh. -the outsider. -speaking a different language than the majority around hm. -when he speaks up, they say he is judging them. When he warns his sons-in-law, they laugh. Silly old man! What's he talking about?! Everything is fine. 

Did they honestly think that they were right? -these men of Sodom? Did they believe Lot was bad and they were good?

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, to see things from their viewpoint. But theirs is a very disturbing view. I can't wrap my mind around it. The idea that tourists are fresh meat. Visitors to town are ripped from their beds and gang raped. Who does that?! 

So, Lot sat behind closed, locked doors.

Peter said that Lot's righteous soul was vexed.

 We have never experienced anything close to what Lot suffered. But I think we have all gotten a little taste of it. It's wearying, exhausting, discouraging. We try to explain our point of view, but everything we say just makes it worse. It's not that we feel more righteous than other people. We just prefer to live dull lives. It didn't take much to be more righteous than the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. God said He would spare the cities if He could find ten righteous people - He couldn't. 

It's okay to not be amused by cruel jokes and behaviors. It's okay to be kind to people others look down on. It's okay to feel sick and angry when you see someone hurting themselves, or someone else. It's okay to say no to dangerous habits that other people enjoy. You really don't have to fit in with all of the other people in Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Some people may feel threatened by your kindness and ridicule you. Some may mock and accuse you -trying to trip you up or find fault. (It's never hard to find fault with fallible humans. We ALL have short comings.)

But listen, don't feel like you have to stay there. Lot was scared to move to the mountains! He begged the angels to let him stay in a small, nearby city. I've often wondered what was up there in those hills that was so scary. If I was Lot, I think I would have left for the hills years before the angels' visit.

 So, if your soul is vexed too, maybe a visit to the mountains will refresh you and remind you that "wild" is sometimes healthier than "civilized." 

Sparing Ninevah

 He knew God.

    -knew that He was kind.

That's why he didn't want to go. 

Ninevah deserved the worst. They deserved punishment. The city was filled with wickedness. The opposite of a God-fearing nation. -evil and violent. A bully of a nation. Strong and powerful. 

Wouldn't it be great to sit and watch them finally get what was coming to them?

Vengeance belongs to the Lord! Do it God! Give them what they've been asking for!

He knew they would listen and be sorry - for a while. They would cry. -make promises...

Ugh!

God would give them another chance.

Which means: The bullies would get another chance to destroy the world!

Why did they love violence so much?

Give them a taste of their own medicine! 

Maybe, if he didn't warn them, they would be caught off-guard. No time to repent. 

So, he left. As far away from Ninevah as he could get. 

He ran.

He hid.

He ignored.

But God didn't see things the way Jonah saw them. God saw people who were ignorant and vulnerable.

He knew they weren't on top of the world -like everyone seemed to think they were. They were just humans, like you and me, and Jonah. People who could only see things one way and thought that they were in the right. People who had never stopped to think about what was right, or wrong; left, or right. 

How could it be possible for such a strong, powerful group of people to not know the difference between right and left? Surely some of them knew.

"Oh, they KNOW what they are doing is WRONG!"

 Suddenly, it is not Jonah talking, but me, and Ninevah is not the subject.

Do something, God! I will sit here and watch while you take them down.

But HE was done talking.

He was done when he said there were a lot of cows there.

What a strange way to end a conversation. 

I wasn't done.

This couldn't be right.

So, I sat and sulked in the sun, next to my wilted vine.

MY vine?

Why, yes, it was MINE!

I DESERVED shelter from the wind and shade from the sun! All of nature blesses those who are good. 

I looked, in disgust, at the city sprawled out before me. The sights, sounds and even smells violated my senses. 

Go home, Jonah!

Go back to your understanding of how the world should work.

If YOU were God, Jonah, the plant would have lived, and the people would have died!

Why is it so hard to have compassion on the bully?

 Bully? Oh, you mean, Jonah? The one who wanted a whole city to be destroyed.

 No, Jonah wasn't the bully. The king of Ninevah was. But that isn't told in this story. We don't see all of what was before. The images in Jonah's mind when God told him to go. All of the horrible things that Jonah would never be able to unsee or forget when he heard the word: Ninevah. And yet, here God was, not feeling sorry for Jonah. But feeling sorry for -THE BULLY!!!

We are Jonah. More willing to jump into the sea in the middle of a tsunami than to look in the eyes of the one we hate and see a human: made in the image of God. 

Lest you think this means we should allow ourselves to be abused, let me remind you why Jonah was sent: To warn Ninevah that God saw and knew everything they had been doing and was about to destroy them.

Running, hiding and ignoring are natural responses. Jonah wasn't so different from us. 

But God IS very different than us humans. 

He sees things we do not see. He is merciful, gracious and good. 

What if the group of people WE despise- that person, or nation, we wish God would take vengeance on- what if they have an untold story too? A story only God knows. If we knew their story, maybe we would be compassionate too. And maybe, instead of wishing for their demise, we would run to them with the GOOD NEWS!

The message found in Jonah 3 and John 3. The way to LIFE!

By Sarah Whitney 12/5/2024