The Prophet's Prejudice

For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:5b-9 ESV).

Today we continue in our Lenten series with a look at the importance of communicating the love and grace of God. The Apostle Paul talks to Titus in our reading today and addresses some characteristics of the Christian leader. They are good words for all. To fully understand these things, a look at Jonah is instructive. Jonah despised the free mercy of God. He did not want to go to Nineveh because he knew God would have mercy on his enemies. He did not want their repentance; he wanted their doom. The elder brother in Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son (cf. Luke 15:11-32) is much like this prejudiced prophet. When the prodigal returns home, he is angry that the father has shown mercy. Just like Jonah outside Nineveh, the elder brother sulks outside the father's house. The problem is that they don't like the free mercy of God. It calls their supremacy into question. The lesson that God was trying to teach Jonah, and us through him, is that God loves to show mercy and that we his people should "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God" (cf. Micah 6:8). And it's implied in the very word "mercy" that no racial or ethnic or national barriers can disqualify a person from God's love and our love. Jonah did not quickly learn that truth, so God continues with his education in chapter four. The world views Christianity as more of an angry political activist movement than a spiritual organization devoted to handing out hope and healing to a hurting world. Too often, when the world is hurting, our response is to say, “Well, it serves them right. We warned them this would happen.” Certainly the Bible talks about not loving the world, or the things of the world. We are commanded to come out from among them and be separate. We are called to be salt and light in a sinful world. We are called to speak out boldly with prophetic voices calling people to repentance. But all of this must be presented with compassion and concern. Truth must be spoken in love. Like Jesus, we are to people full of grace and truth. Our culture must know us as truth-tellers, but we must be truth-tellers with tears, for it is not we who are the victims, but they. They are the ones who are enslaved to sin. They are the ones whose minds are darkened. They are the ones whose eyes are blinded. When we interact with our enemies, it must not be out of hate and spite, but out of love and compassion.