Sometimes, The Undeserving Ones Win

Being a parent to young kids is one of the most rewarding things that anyone can ever experience. Watching my kids grow from infants to toddlers and now to elementary school kids has been more fun than I’ve ever had in my life. Seeing their imaginations at work, observing how they use their creativity, and the amount of knowledge they acquire in such a short amount of time blows my mind. My kids are only eleven months apart, so they are each other’s best friend, but they can also become mortal enemies.

While I love most everything about my kids, They have one phrase that drives me insane. “That’s not fair.” If one of them gets to go on a field trip at school but the other doesn’t… “That’s not fair!” If one of them gets to go to their friends house and the other doesn’t…”That’s not fair!” If one of them gets five more minutes of time on the playstation…”That’s not fair!” “That’s not fair” has to be the most annoying phrase in the world to me. As a parent, we’ve all had the same response to this. “Life’s not fair.” Truthfully, though, fair has never been a promise from God. He doesn’t keep score of who does the most good stuff. He doesn’t compare us to each other based on merit. His love has to be the most unfair thing in the world. Regardless of “works of righteousness,” God loves equally.

His mercy is the same. The murderer, the thief, and the deviant are all afforded the same mercy as the one who grows up in the Church doing their best to live for Christ. As long as we are willing to repent and turn our lives over to Christ, we all have the same guarantee. No amount of money can buy it. No amount of good deeds can earn it. No amount of prayers can give you more of a guarantee than anyone else when it comes to God’s mercy. The harsh reality for all of us is that if we have sinned - regardless of that sin, we need the mercy of God. We need for Him to have mercy on us as sinners who have separated us from Him.
 
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9–14

While man always seems to focus on appearances, God sees what is inside. I’m sure that pharisee would say that God holding this tax collector in higher regard is the most unfair thing in the world. The Pharisee had given his whole life in servitude to God and His commands. He had lived a pious life that many can’t, but this tax collector has favor in the eyes of God?!?!? This makes no sense, and it is by no means fair.
 
Jonah is the perfect example of what happens when we can’t celebrate God showing his mercy on those we deem unfit. Last week, we talked about how he ran from God. He literally got in a boat in order to escape God’s call on him to speak to the Assyrian people living in Ninevah. He was to go and let them know that God’s wrath was about to come upon them and to brace for their inevitable destruction. When he was released from the belly of the fish, he followed through with his mission.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Jonah 3:1–4

Though he was hesitant, at first, to go into Ninevah and share such awful news, he did what God had asked. What happened next was not what Jonah expected.

And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.  The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
Jonah 3:5–9

The people got the message. They realized where they had fallen short, and even the king made a decree for everyone to repent of the sin they had committed. Was it too late for them? Was God going to wash His hands of these sinful people?

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah 3:10

Could there have been better news? Jonah had convinced the people to change from their wicked ways and turn to God! He had to be elated that God would forgive them and let them live. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Jonah 4:1–3

Do you relate with Jonah here? Does it anger you when God shows mercy on those that we don’t deem “worthy?” There’s a toxicity that we can have when we don’t let our personal bias move to the side and, instead, celebrate our King’s right to show mercy to everyone. God is an unfair God, and His love, compassion, and mercy are all unfair. That may be one of the greatest attributes He has. All hail the unfair King.