From today’s reading...
At this, the men were seized with dread of Yahweh; they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows to him.” Jonah 1:16
Jonah was running away from his calling, his duty, his responsibilities—from God.
This caused problems for him and everyone around him.
What was the universal response of those around him when they realized they were saved from their impending death?
“They offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows to him.”
Why is this concept of making sacrifices universal across all cultures on all continents across all documented time?
Is it just a foolish, silly, wasteful practice of a bygone era performed by superstitious, ignorant people who thought the earth was flat and rested on the back of a turtle?
If the practice of sacrificing a bit of what you have today to have a better tomorrow is so wrong, why do you continue doing it?
“What do you mean, Wes? I don’t even belong to a church. I’m spiritual, not religious. Heck, I’m probably more agnostic than anything. I’m not sacrificing my time, talent, nor treasures for some ‘fairy in the sky’ or for some hypocritical preacher-man to buy more exotic cars and molest women and children.”
Fair enough.
But let me ask you something.
How much time, money, and energy did you sacrifice to get your college degree or certification or license for work?
Why do you set aside money for investing for retirement rather than spend every dime you earn the moment it hits your bank account?
Why do you exercise?
Why did you have children?
All of those accomplishments required you to sacrifice many “todays” with the hope of creating many better tomorrows.
Sure, none of those I listed deal with anything in the religious or spiritual realms, but where did this concept of sacrifice come from and how did it get passed on for generations and millennia to every continent with more people than penguins?
We take the internet and libraries and computers in our pockets for granted, but it wasn’t always like that.
Printed books have only been a thing for less than 600 years, which means books were prohibitively expensive until just a few hundred years ago, but with worldwide literacy at just 12% as recently as 1820, even if someone could afford a book, it doesn’t mean they could read it.
So if people couldn’t surf the web or survey their friends on social media or run down to the local library or Barnes & Noble to know how to better their lives, how’d they learn about the value and importance of sacrificing good things today for a better tomorrow?
Since most people throughout all of history have been blue-collar workers of faith, they learned it on the Sabbath from their Rabbi or on the Sabbath and during daily Mass from their parish Priest.
Yeah, yeah, it’s cool and hip to beat up on “organized religion,” but take a moment to consider the shoulders upon which you stand and the hand that you are biting that has fed you, your parents, and every relative that came before you for the last 4,000 years.
You are educated and comfortable and stable in your faith, family, fitness, and finances because you have been surrounded by family, friends, associates, and guardian angels who have shown by example the benefits of sacrifice.
It’s so enmeshed in our society and our beings that you don’t even notice it.
Today, take a moment to notice it.
Ask yourself why this 2,400-year-old story still exists and how God has given it to you right now to help you...
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.
Now go sell something.