ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

and finish painting the face of Jesus. 28 What cataracts do to the eyes, anger does to the soul.We see this fleshed out in the life of Jonah through his following two actions. First, he jumped to conclusions, a reaction very similar to distorted thinking that was explained in the last chapter. Jonah’s emotions became so entangled that he prayed, “Oh Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life” (Jonah 4:3). These words are similar to those of Job, who vented the following in the wake of his suffering, “Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? (Job 3:11).Though these men couldn’t have been serious, this reveals what can be thought and said while under duress. For example, Job later lamented, “I loathe my life; I will give full vent to my complaint. Is it right forYou indeed to oppress, to reject the labor ofYour hands,And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked? Have you eyes of flesh? Or do you see as man sees? (10:1-3). Obviously, God won’t reject His own work, since He is per- fect and makes no mistakes and He’ll never look favorably on wick- edness and evil.Yet, it’s not unusual for us, given our sinful state, to take a distorted view of His actions. See also that Jonah majored on the minors by getting his priorities all out of whack. Demonstrating care and compassion and in the midst of the hot sun, God provided a plant for Jonah, “To deliver him from his discomfort,” yet, “Jonah was extremely happy about the plant” (Jonah 4:6).That makes no sense. Jonah is mad about the fact that the entire population of Nineveh repented of their sins, but was thrilled about a plant. So, did the physical comfort of Jonah take precedent over the spiritual condition of tens of thousands? This brings to mind Naaman, captain of King Aram’s army in the time of Elisha. Diseased with leprosy, Namaan was sent by his

29