Stomping our Feet – The Book of Jonah

Muffy Crosswire has been a name known across a number of households. She is the rich, spoiled playmate of PBS’ “Arthur.” She resembles the few in a position of life where the protest of stomping their feet still actually affects their reality.

While we are “at home,” we retain plenty of room and leverage to stomp our feet. It is ironic mercy that pulls out the rug from underneath us and removes us from the plot of flooring for stomping, from being “at home” at it was for Jonah. It takes us to the place where stomping will not exclude us from happenings. Over years of seeing stomping’s ineffectiveness,  we slowly begin to learn.

When the rug is being literally pulled out from under our feet, do we give up all flooring or do we merely shimmy to that last 12 by 12-inch piece of tile? We will reserve it for the right to stomp our foot, just in case…

And when we inevitably retreat to this last crowded foothold, will we exclaim, “I can’t, I can’t!” or “I won’t, I won’t”? Does God yield to that cry?

Where the care of others is concerned, for our good, He will not relent. He resisted Jonah.  He will allow us to lose our securities in order to act out His compassion.

“But why is this laid on me? Why am I the scapegoat?” “Do you have the right to be angry?” asks God of Jonah (vs. 4:9). “Well, yes, I still have reserved this tile of flooring for this right of mine to protest and stomp my foot.”

Bicker as we may, it is to our benefit that no relenting results from our protesting. God offers us more than we would ever dream for ourselves. We’d be totally happy to be off-the-hook for the temporary ease. “Do we do well to be angry?” (KJV) We are not the origin; we have not tended or made to grow His beloved creation. God has done it all. He has given us this privilege of caring within His compassion.

No, He did not cower to our stomping. His love explains to our stubbornly-folded arms:.”[Nineveh] has…people who do not know their right hand from their left…Should not I be concerned about their great city?” (vs. 11).

We will leave our last fortress of tile in exchange for the enormous roaming opportunity of God’s compassion.