Jonah 4:10 “And the LORD said, ‘You pity the plant, for which you did labor, nor did you make it grow; which came into being in a night and perished in a night.’”

Do you remember the advertisement showing an American Indian with tears in his eyes as he surveyed the damage being done to the American landscape? I do. It made me sad and I guess a little mad (angry). Others feel the same way, some to the extent that they formed organizations and raised money to protect the environment. Today, millions are worried about climate change and global warming. Millions are spent to rescue abandoned animals or protect a dwindling species.

Meanwhile, thousands of young people are sold into slavery, enslave themselves to drugs, and are murdered on the streets of their hometowns. Where is the anger? Have we become a society who is more concerned over a shady plant we didn’t have anything to do with than a world of innocent children.

Meanwhile, thousands live without homes, food, medicine and love. Women are taken advantage of, raped and enslaved. Where is the outrage? Where is the large organization to stop that abuse? Where is the anger? Are we angrier over homeless dogs and cats than we are people? Are we more concerned over animal abuse or environment abuse than human abuse?

Task for Today: Are you thinking like Jonah or like God? What bothers you most, human abuse or non-human abuse? There are enough Martha’s in the world already. What is needed is more Mary’s. If you want to be concerned make sure it is the one important thing. Don’t lose sight of the real value in life, fretting over a vine.