Jonah's Scarcity Mindset
By Rev. Jody Mask, Pastor, Grace Covenant Presbyterian, Orlando, Anti-Racism Committee Member
(As a white person, I sense my responsibility to talk to white people about our role in anti-racism work. If you are not white, feel free to read on, but this article is addressed to white people first and foremost.)
I have been preaching on the book of Jonah this July. Jonah is such an interesting and compelling character because of his emotional swings. At various times, he runs from God’s will, then embraces it; he prays once for deliverance in a time of desperation, then for pity in a time of pouting. He is at once a hot and cold spokesman for God.
When it comes to race relations in America, what do you suppose is God’s will? For equality, or for unequal treatment? For harmony or for discord? For honoring one another as created in the image of God, or dishonoring one another as somehow less than ourselves? The answers are obvious, but honoring that will is a constant challenge that requires self-reflection and vigilance. The temptation to run from our responsibility is tremendous.
At the beginning of his prophetic call to witness, Jonah fled God’s will. When he finally obeyed God and brought the word to Nineveh, a remarkable response followed. Nineveh’s repentance saved its people from certain destruction. Potential enemies became fellow followers of God. But Jonah wasn’t happy with that! “That is why I fled,” he prayed angrily, “for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment.”
Jonah resented God’s equal treatment of people that Jonah was conditioned to believe were inferior and undeserving. God’s love and attention were finite and limited in Jonah’s thinking. There was only so much to go around, and if some went to the Ninevites, then that meant there was less for him as an Israelite.
We white people have historically carried a similar mentality when it comes to rights and privileges, and even divine favor. We were the Israelites, and everyone else were Ninevites. Why should they receive equal treatment?
We may think that we solved “the racism problem” in America and that it no longer exists. If we do, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
You may get defensive and insist that you “do not see color.” I challenge you to rethink that. We all “see color.” The difference is how that sight shapes our reactions, our assumptions, and our interactions with people who don’t look like us.
I have heard it said that the greatest lie the devil told was that he didn’t exist. Likewise, when we deny that racism exists within us, we lie to ourselves and to God. It’s part and parcel of the social and cultural conditioning of America.
That doesn’t mean we are any more or less fallen than anyone else. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But it also doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it. It takes constant work--both within ourselves and within our society.
Self-work is the easiest. Try this: the next time you encounter a stranger who isn’t white, pay attention to your reaction. What was your first thought? How did your body respond? Consider this “physical audit” to be a spiritual practice. Acknowledge your feelings so that you can work to change them as needed.
Societal work is bigger and more challenging, of course. We have to fix the unjust systems that our forefathers created, consciously or not. We have to get out of our comfort zones. We have to expose the deception of those who seek to downplay the legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, centuries of chattel slavery, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and Executive Order 9066 that led to the establishment of Japanese internment camps during World War II.
In both personal and societal work, Jesus calls us to assume a posture of humble service, elevating others as he told his disciples: “...whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28).
God asked Jonah twice, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah insisted that it was, but God reminded him that the great city of Nineveh was just as important to him as the people of Israel. God loves equality, and if we humble ourselves and seek the welfare of our neighbors, we can certainly achieve it.
I have been preaching on the book of Jonah this July. Jonah is such an interesting and compelling character because of his emotional swings. At various times, he runs from God’s will, then embraces it; he prays once for deliverance in a time of desperation, then for pity in a time of pouting. He is at once a hot and cold spokesman for God.
When it comes to race relations in America, what do you suppose is God’s will? For equality, or for unequal treatment? For harmony or for discord? For honoring one another as created in the image of God, or dishonoring one another as somehow less than ourselves? The answers are obvious, but honoring that will is a constant challenge that requires self-reflection and vigilance. The temptation to run from our responsibility is tremendous.
At the beginning of his prophetic call to witness, Jonah fled God’s will. When he finally obeyed God and brought the word to Nineveh, a remarkable response followed. Nineveh’s repentance saved its people from certain destruction. Potential enemies became fellow followers of God. But Jonah wasn’t happy with that! “That is why I fled,” he prayed angrily, “for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment.”
Jonah resented God’s equal treatment of people that Jonah was conditioned to believe were inferior and undeserving. God’s love and attention were finite and limited in Jonah’s thinking. There was only so much to go around, and if some went to the Ninevites, then that meant there was less for him as an Israelite.
We white people have historically carried a similar mentality when it comes to rights and privileges, and even divine favor. We were the Israelites, and everyone else were Ninevites. Why should they receive equal treatment?
We may think that we solved “the racism problem” in America and that it no longer exists. If we do, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
You may get defensive and insist that you “do not see color.” I challenge you to rethink that. We all “see color.” The difference is how that sight shapes our reactions, our assumptions, and our interactions with people who don’t look like us.
I have heard it said that the greatest lie the devil told was that he didn’t exist. Likewise, when we deny that racism exists within us, we lie to ourselves and to God. It’s part and parcel of the social and cultural conditioning of America.
That doesn’t mean we are any more or less fallen than anyone else. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But it also doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it. It takes constant work--both within ourselves and within our society.
Self-work is the easiest. Try this: the next time you encounter a stranger who isn’t white, pay attention to your reaction. What was your first thought? How did your body respond? Consider this “physical audit” to be a spiritual practice. Acknowledge your feelings so that you can work to change them as needed.
Societal work is bigger and more challenging, of course. We have to fix the unjust systems that our forefathers created, consciously or not. We have to get out of our comfort zones. We have to expose the deception of those who seek to downplay the legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, centuries of chattel slavery, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and Executive Order 9066 that led to the establishment of Japanese internment camps during World War II.
In both personal and societal work, Jesus calls us to assume a posture of humble service, elevating others as he told his disciples: “...whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28).
God asked Jonah twice, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah insisted that it was, but God reminded him that the great city of Nineveh was just as important to him as the people of Israel. God loves equality, and if we humble ourselves and seek the welfare of our neighbors, we can certainly achieve it.
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