Today I Learned That I Am Worse Than a Pagan Sailor

Jordan Inks
Aug 23, 2017 · 4 min read

“Then they cried to the Lord, ‘O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased.’” — Jonah 1:14

This afternoon, I’d like to take you back to Sunday school. Remember the story of Jonah? Big fish…evil Ninevites…a storm at sea. Of course you do.

Have you ever read Jonah 1–4 as an adult? I reached this passage today in my reading plan. I’ve been putting it off for almost a week now because, like most goody two-shoes Sunday school students, I “remember” the story of Jonah. But now I have a little more life under my belt, and to my surprise, it read differently.

Today I learned that I am worse than a pagan sailor.

We enter the scene at its climax. A violent storm has arisen and the ship is threatening to break in two. Everyone aboard is praying to the powers that be. Men are throwing cargo into the sea–abandoning the original intent of their voyage–in the hopes that they might make it out alive. It’s a life-or-death, all-hands-on-deck moment.

Except for Jonah, who’s sleeping in the hold. They have to wake him up to “cast lots,” which is their way of asking “the gods” who is responsible for the storm. Lots fall on Jonah. Jonah had told the sailors previously that he was fleeing the Lord, “the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”

At this point, the obvious decision is to throw Jonah overboard. But catch this: They don’t do it right away. “Instead, the men did their best to row back to land.” Why? Let’s take a look at Jonah 1:14, the verse at the beginning of this post:

“Then they cried to the Lord, ‘O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased.’” — Jonah 1:14

At first glance, you might be thinking: “Duh, they don’t want to murder the guy.” Yes, that is probably true, but let’s dig a little deeper.

“Oh Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life.”

Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man.”

There are two things going on here. #1 The sailors fear their own death. #2 The sailors fear their own death because they are deciding to murder Jonah for the sake of their lives. Exodus 20:13: “You shall not murder.” The sailors know the commandments of Jonah’s God, and fear his wrath on their lives for breaking them.

I make decisions every day. We all do. Business leaders and government officials make bigger decisions at a faster rate than the rest of us but, at the end of the day, the cereal you ate this morning was a decision.

I don’t know how to consider God in my decision-making. I am a task-oriented personality type to a fault. I often forget to consider the people around me in my decision-making; I just keep moving, full steam “ahead,” not blinking an eye.

This is our culture, is it not? We have no respect for “the gods.” We believe it is our right to make the obvious decision, which for some means taking someone else’s life, and we have no fear.

We are all worse than pagan sailors.

So where do we go from here? Let me just steal the example of leaders in my life who have exercised God-considering discernment in their decision-making before me.

We read God’s word–regularly, intentionally–and we pray with that same attitude.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” There seems to be a direct correlation between the use of God’s word and the Christian’s ability to obey the Law of God.

James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Why not ask God for wisdom in your decision-making?

Today I learned that I am worse than a pagan sailor because I re-read the Sunday school story of Jonah directly from the Scriptures. As a child of my culture (and humankind in general), I prayed for an awareness of situations in which I need to consider God. If you aren’t already doing so, I challenge you to go back and read some of those old Sunday school stories again. You just might find that you don’t “remember.”


Originally published at nothingbutnuance.wordpress.com on August 23, 2017.

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Jordan Inks

Written by

Content Manager for an award-winning media and digital marketing agency in Anchorage, Alaska. Passionate about thought. Currently writing my own Sci-Fi novel.

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