Daily Devotional: Anger and Perspective

​The prophet Jonah showed compassion towards a gourd but not towards the people of Nineveh. What can we learn from this preacher's skewed perspective?

Jonah 4:9

“I do well to be angry, even unto death.”

What makes you angry? Do you pity the correct things? Jonah said he was angry unto death because a worm had devoured a helpless gourd. He had great compassion over vegetation but had no compassion for the people of Nineveh.
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How many times do you become upset over a tiny, insignificant thing and fail to respond to the sin and suffering in the world around you? Woe to me! Being delayed at a traffic light sometimes irritates me, but what about the people who slaughter Christians for their faith? Am I frustrated that few people, myself included, reach out and witness?

Where is your perspective? If you are focused on yourself, the minute aspects of life become distractions that pull your attention away from the weightier matters of people’s salvation. Only when we have our eyes set on Christ and His will for humanity can we truly become upset over the appropriate causes.

Without our eyes on Christ, we fight battles that are not worth fighting. I have found many things in my life that are simply not worth the worry and frustration I give them. After all, everything I see with my material eyes will one day be burned with a fervent heat. Only the eternal things, the fruits of love, longsuffering, forgiveness, patience, endurance, and peace, are truly significant. Furthermore, my outward works are but a reflection of the same inward works of the spirit. If I keep my eye on spiritual things and strive for spiritual deliverance for those around me, then I can truly make an eternal impact in my family, church, community, and society. If you feel yourself becoming angry, if you intend to fight for a cause, make sure it is a cause that bears eternal significance.

• Reflection: Do you become upset over temporal or eternal affairs? Leave a comment below how God has directed your perspective.