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How Do You Show Your Concern?

A recent news story illustrates the crisis of our culture. A young woman was reprimanded by an airline employee for her attire. He felt she was too scantily dressed to be on a flight, and she will most likely sue over the matter. The crazy thing is that although, in my opinion, the outfit was not appropriate for a young woman to wear anywhere, I have seen girls wearing similar outfits to church on Sundays.

The incident brings out the confused world we live in. Social standards are almostnon-existent. We are left to gamble at what should be considered right or wrongand the line is hard to distinguish regarding a woman’s dress. Unless alaw has been written it might be against her rights to ask her to meet a certaindress code. The last verse in the book of Jonah describes what God could sayabout our culture. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousandpeople who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well.Should I not be concerned about that great city?

What concerns you about this culture? What do you do about it? It’s easyto judge and complain. God’s response to people whose pursuit of freedomthrough ignoring Him has always been one of concern. He offers His light andhope.

God is concerned for women who show off their bodies. He has concern for menwho are willing to sell their souls to reach ambitious goals. He has concernfor a culture which has fallen away from the standards He has given us in HisWord. He does more than feel concern, He acts on His concern. In the case ofNineveh, He sent a reluctant prophet to show the way.

How blessed we are to have a man like Jonah to help us see what we are like.Jonah wanted to ignore the people of Nineveh. He felt about them the same waya lot of people feel about their arch rival in football. He didn’t sharethe kind of concern God had for this group of people who were exhibiting suchhorrific behaviors.

What kind of concern do you have for people who show disregard for God’sways and His love? How do you respond to them? Do you run away from them likeJonah? Do you try to ignore them? Have you ever once tried to reach out to themand understand them and share God’s love with them?

Maybe what our culture needs is for God’s witnesses to walk among them,in their imagination if not literally. Think they way they do. Consider why a23 year-old would dress that way for a flight. Understand that her greatest desireis just to be loved. Rather than avoid her, run from her or judge her, why notget to know her and share the love you have found in Jesus?

 

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