Sharing Jesus

Innocent “Cargoes” of our Pilgrimage

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Late in the evening on April 14, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic hit an iceberg and sank into the icy waters of the North Atlantic, killing 1,517 of the 2,223 passengers and crew members aboard. Just a little over a century later, around the same time on April 16, 2014, a South Korean shipping vessel known as M.V Sewol which was en route from Incheon towards Jeju sank and killed 304 people on-board.

Whiles fighting a strong current, the vessel which had loaded more than twice the legal limit of cargo, made a sharp turn that affected its balance and ended up capsizing. “Cargo” refers to the goods carried aboard the ship for hire, while “freight” refers to the compensation the ship receives for carrying the cargo. Crises are inevitable phenomena of human life. The type of response adopted, however, determines the impact a crisis exerts on the individual, cooperate bodies, and organisations. Among those convicted in the M.V Sewol incident was the captain of the ship who was sentenced to life in prison on the charge of negligence. Apart from the human casualties, there was an estimated property loss of $180 million with respect to the cargo.

In the first chapter of the book of Jonah, a story is told of a similar crisis that resulted in a certain response by the captain, his crew, and the passengers of a Tarshish- bound shipping vessel. Unlike the M.V Sewol, the cause of this near-disaster, however, did not have anything to do with the cargo on board. The vessel was expected to cruise smoothly from Joppa and dock safely at Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). Like this vessel, the ultimate goal, as Christians, is to achieve excellence in our households, marriages, businesses, callings, academic pursuits, and ministry for God to be glorified (Matt 5:16). This good intention for God and humankind does not necessarily insulate the believer from crises, challenges, or setbacks. It rather attracts them to a believer’s life in a world ruled by its prince, the devil. It is, therefore, the good management of crises that matters. The objective of this article is to examine how the captain and the sailors responded amid those life-threatening moments and derive lessons for our pilgrimage as Christians.

According to Jonah 1:3, Jonah decided to run away from the Lord by heading to Tarshish instead of Nineveh, as instructed by God. “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god” (Jonah 1:4). With time, what appeared to be a mystery concerning the near-disaster on the high seas has been unraveled. It was orchestrated by God and His reason was for the sinners in Nineveh to repent and get saved. Can we, for once, take a breath and accept that our heavenly Father can also be the cause of certain crises we find ourselves in? And that they may be for our good and that of others in the end? And to His glory?

The first thing the sailors of this ship did was to call and cry out unto their gods. If the devil begins to display what he knows doing best against us, we can resist and stop him in Jesus’ name as Christians. Similarly, if nature begins to ask life-threatening questions, as happened in Jesus’ boat in Matthew 8:23-27, we can rebuke those elements of nature to be calm in the name of Jesus. The puzzle, however, gets complex and intriguing when the Lord Himself is the cause, as happened in the case of this Tarshish-bound ship. It was, therefore, not surprising that, with all the prayers and disaster-management skills employed, the violent winds got worse (Verse 11).

Conspicuously missing in that desperate prayer session for divine help in the ship was Jonah who had gone below the deck, sleeping (Jonah 1:5). When it became evident that their gods could not offer any help, the captain and his crew, out of frustration, decided to throw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. This was to ensure some relative stability amid the violent winds damning all legal, commercial, economic, and social consequences that awaited them should they get to Tarshish. The cargo which carried the livelihood of many had to be sacrificed whiles the main reason for the crisis (i.e., Jonah) had gone into hiding sleeping. The innocent and speechless cargo had to be at the mercy of the raging sea and all of its wild creatures.

As individuals, organisations, and corporate bodies, only God knows the innocent “cargoes” that have been thrown overboard and into the high seas when the going got tough, because of us. This may have brought untold hardships to many in our communities, especially the innocent “cargoes” themselves and those whose livelihood depended on them. In the case of the Tarshish-bound ship, Jonah’s interrogation began after the cargo was sacrificed and the situation kept on worsening. After casting lots, it came to light that someone, much lighter in weight than the cargo, should rather have been offloaded into the sea.

Jonah 1:3 says, “… He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” As difficult as it may sound to implement, one great lesson the captain and his crew would learn for their next voyage would be to rather pray, scrutinise, and cast lots, if necessary, before taking on board any passenger. Even though some “Jonahs” are not, they become????? Individuals and cooperate bodies must take time to screen well those they engage, employ, appoint, or take onboard any mission to minimise losses.

According to Jonah 1:10, before the violent winds arose, the crew had hints from Jonah himself that he was running away from the Lord. Just a little more due diligence on the part of the crew would have prevented or isolated the main cause of the crisis and thus, spared the cargo from the needless ordeal it suffered in the deep seas. In like manner, when we refuse to do the necessary due diligence in admitting, engaging, or appointing questionable characters in our voyage as Christians, we are likely to pay dearly for that if not with our very lives. Harboring suspicious elements amongst our ranks and covering up for them can also be detrimental to the fortunes of any enterprise. The captain of the ship should, therefore, have advised Jonah against his wrong move of running away from God’s instructions.

Unfortunately, the cargo and its contents had already started perishing at the time Jonah was found out to be the reason for their predicament. It was, therefore, a case of misjudgment by the captain and his crew. Jonah, then, suggested they treat him like the cargo by throwing him into the sea for them to have their peace. The captain and his men did their best to preserve his life by attempting to row back to land but they could not, because the sea grew even wilder than before (verse 13). “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard and the raging sea grew calm” (Jonah 1:16). The crew was uncomfortable heeding to his request since they thought his death was going to be a painful one. Little did they know it was for Jonah’s safety, their survival, and the salvation of the people of great Nineveh. Judging from where Jonah had gone to hide, he would have been the last to be found and thrown overboard if it got to the stage where human lives were to be treated as the cargo.

Not until the “Jonahs” of our pilgrimage are decisively dealt with, they and we will have no peace. Dealing with the “Jonahs,” once identified, is what will be in their interest as well as those on board the vessel and its cargo. The innocent “cargoes,” in this article, refers to those who may have nothing to do with an individual or organisation’s woes, yet one of the first to be fingered and treated as the scapegoats of that crisis.

The “Jonahs” represent the main cause and reason for a particular crisis. They can only be revealed and identified through proper and Spirit-directed due diligence. Like Jonah, if the “Jonahs” are identified and managed well, they would not die but live to declare the acceptable year of the Lord and for the salvation of many. If the “Jonahs” are, however, allowed to continually hide behind the cargo, every single loss in terms of legal and insurance claims would be accounted for should the ship finally dock at Tarshish without the accompanying cargo.

When Joseph suffered the fate of an innocent “cargo” and was offloaded to serve an indefinite prison term, Potiphar incurred losses since his presence in that house brought many blessings to him and his entire household (Genesis 39:5). How attractive could the lonely and troubled slave boy Joseph appear more than his spirited and energetic Egyptian counterparts? Mrs. Potiphar’s misguided and unbridled lust which safely went into hiding was the major problem that needed redress and not Joseph’s good-looking features. In the same manner, and without condoning ungodly provocative dressing, certain colors, styles, fabrics, hairstyles, and even footwear have been made scapegoats instead of dealing decisively with the problem of lust.

In a typical marriage crisis, one’s “Jonah” may be his or her attitude and not the in- law who might have come to visit. The in-law can be treated as the innocent “cargo” and thrown out of the home, but the storms could even get worse, like in the circumstances on the Tarshish bound-ship. The “Jonah” in the husband or wife, in this context, that bad attitude is what must be offloaded for calmness to be restored in the marriage. I hereby encourage all who have suffered any ordeal in one way or the other, like the cargo in the Tarshish-bound ship, to cheer up and continue to trust in the Lord. Joseph’s glorious end must assure all such innocent “cargoes” that those who put their trust in the Lord are indeed like mount Zion which cannot be moved (Psalm 125:1).

I will also like to admonish any known “Jonah” or convicted “Jonah” out of the reading of this article to own up and receive restoration from the Lord. Own up if you know you are the cause of the entropy in that friend’s marriage, household, organisation, or institution. Do not continually watch on while new rules and measures are being enacted only for you to scheme around them and go into hiding. Jonah’s lifeline was dependent on his surrender to the captain and the entire crew. Mercy visits any child of God who voluntarily owns up and confesses his or her sins. It is, therefore, never too late for the “Jonahs” of our time to do the honorable thing as Jonah declared, “… I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you” (Jonah 1:12).

The practice whereby new regulations are enacted in pursuit of the “Jonahs” does not easily fish them out during crisis, because they know how and where to hide and sleep amid the chaos. If lust is the problem, offload it and stop blaming everything around you, including the weather conditions. Leave the innocent “cargoes” alone. If greed is the problem, offload it and leave the investment doctrines alone. If jealousy and envies are the problems, offload it and stop the slander under the guise of waging the justifiable campaign against cronyism and nepotism. If an unhealthy competitive spirit

 

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