American society has not been this violently polarized since the era of the Vietnam war. Everyone seems to be angry these days – over sexuality and gender issues, over police policies and procedures, over the way racial minorities have been treated throughout our history. It’s easy to hate, especially when you think that others hate you.

But if modern Americans are reacting to “micro-aggressions” and “triggers,” Jonah had much more urgent reasons for his anger. The Assyrian empire had been expanding for years, using its chariots, its iron weapons, and its superior siege tactics to conquer city after city. By Jonah’s time the Assyrians controlled all of modern day Iraq and most of Syria. They were definitely the big bullies of the region, and in years to come, would conquer the Kingdom of Israel and carry all its people off into exile.

No, it’s no wonder that Jonah was hesitant to go and preach a gospel of repentance to the people of Nineveh, one of the largest cities of the Assyrian empire (near modern-day Mosul). After all, why should Jonah want the enemies of his people to repent and be saved from God’s judgment (Jonah 4:1-2)? And maybe you have the same attitude toward those who are on the opposite side of the “culture wars” here in America.

But did Jonah really have any reason to consider himself superior to those wicked Ninevites? After all, hadn’t Jonah himself engaged in radical rebellion against God? Instead of heading east to Nineveh as God had instructed, hadn’t Jonah defied God, instead trying to go as far west as he could, taking a ship headed all the way across the Mediterranean to Tarshish in modern-day Spain (Jonah 1:1-3)? If the Ninevites didn’t deserve to be saved, did Jonah?

Come to think of it, do any of us? After all, we modern American Christians have heard the end of the story. We know how Christ died on the cross to break the power of sin in our lives. We know that Christ rose from the dead so that we might share in His new, resurrection life, a life lived only for the glory of God. And we know that God wants us to glorify Him by loving Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength – and by loving our neighbors just as much as we love ourselves.

But are we any more loving toward those on the opposite side of the culture wars than Jonah was toward the wicked Ninevites? Are we concerned about their eternal souls? Well, if God loved unworthy sinners like Jonah and unworthy sinners like us, why should we be so surprised that He loves them too? So, shouldn’t we pray for them and reach out to them? Shouldn’t we try to tell them the good news that we all so desperately need to hear?

Jonah 1:1-3 (NASB)

The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.