Article August 1, 1983 Issue

Let anger yield to love

ANTOINETTE FINSTAD

In the last chapter of Jonah, God twice asks this question of the hero of the book: "Doest thou well to be angry?"^{Jonah 4:4, 9.} After paying a severe penalty for his disobedience to God's instructions, Jonah finally preached repentance to the Ninevites. When they were spared because of their earnest turning from their evil ways, Jonah became very angry. "It displeased Jonah exceedingly,"^{Jonah 4:1.} as the Bible states it.

The book ends with God asking Jonah: "And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"

We might ask ourselves, Are we doing well when annoyances, disturbances, irritations, cause us to be angry and merciless? Self-righteousness, in the guise of righteousness, finds anger quite permissible. But the Bible and the teachings of Christian Science show anger to be very destructive, doing one much moral and physical harm.

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