Angry for the Wrong Reason

Jonah 4:9

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

We all know the story of Jonah well. His humanity was undoubtedly evident when God called him to go to Nineveh to preach to those people. Eventually, through much persuasion, Jonah went to Nineveh and preached. A great revival broke out that should have caused Jonah to rejoice about what God did through his preaching and ministry, but instead, we see Jonah sitting under a juniper and angry that God did not destroy these people.

Only in a way that God could do it; God allowed a juniper tree to quickly grow to give Jonah shade from the heat of the sun, to which Jonah was very pleased about the juniper tree. However, the next day, that tree was dead because of a worm that destroyed the tree in one night. As Jonah sat in the heat of the sun with his only shade being gone, he was angry and wanted to die. God addressed Jonah and asked, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? Jonah thought he had every right to be angry, but his anger was misplaced. Jonah should have been angry about the sin of Nineveh. He should have been angry that the people were about to die because of their sin. He should have been angry that these people had disrespected God with their sins, but his anger was more about the physical than the spiritual.

Many times we can find ourselves just like Jonah who was angry at the wrong thing. That anger can often cause us to become backslidden or bitter over things that really have no impact on eternity. My friend, we should be angry, but we must not be angry at the wrong things. Let me share a couple things you should be angry about.

First, it should anger you that people are going to Hell. It ought to anger you that feel-good preachers are sending people to Hell with their message that never has the Gospel. It ought to anger you that people are more wrapped up in the political world than they are with the souls of mankind. It ought to anger you that churches are more interested in playing than they are in reaching the lost before they go to Hell. Oh, the impact of eternity is hanging on whether or not God’s people get angry about the fact that the lost are going to Hell because of no witness to bring the Gospel to them.

Second, it should anger you that sin destroys life. Sadly, many have misplaced their anger at the sinner instead of at the sin. We get angry with the drunkard instead of being angry with alcohol. We get angry that a couple was immoral with each other instead of getting angry at the sin of adultery. Believers often have a hard time separating the sinner from the sin, and our anger is hurled at the sinner who needs to get right and be restored.

My friend, when you are angry about the right things, that anger will motivate you to be angry at sin. When you place your anger on sin instead of the sinner, you will find yourself becoming compassionate toward the one that sin has destroyed, which will create a great passion for them to get right with God so they can be restored. When you place your anger on Satan, who has deceived many into going to Hell, it will motivate you to being a better soul winner so that you can reach the lost with the Gospel before they die. Let your anger be placed on the right object, and let it motivate you to do all you can to stop sin from hurting people.