Self-Pity
Scripture:
Jonah 4:10-11
But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
Reflection:
Today I fast from the wound of self-pity.
The truth is that life is often difficult. We face challenges because of choices we make, but also because of situations beyond our control. In either case, the pull to self-pity is often present. We may exaggerate and indulge ourselves in our own pain. We may demand that others recognize our suffering and offer their sympathies. Whatever the case, self-pity involves a deep focus on ourselves, often to the exclusion of the situations faced by those around us.
Jonah was no stranger to self-pity. In Jonah 4, he is so consumed with the loss of his shady plant that he doesn’t even remember the lives of 120,000 people in the city of Nineveh. The verses above are the final words of the book of Jonah - we don’t know how he responded to God’s rebuke. But I wonder if we can hear God’s words in response to our own bouts of self-pity? Where have we been so consumed by our own losses that we’ve missed what is happening in the lives of those around us?
Questions for Personal Reflection:
Where am I most tempted to self-pity or to demand sympathy from others?
What might I have missed seeing around me while wallowing in self-pity?
Prayer:
Tell God about the things causing self-pity in your life. Share with God any ways that you’ve noticed self-pity may be causing harm to yourself and others. Ask God to help you move out of self-pity and to open your eyes to what is happening around you - both those who are also suffering, and the ways that God is still working.
These devotions have been adapted from “Lenten Healing: 40 Days to Set You Free from Sin” by Ken Kniepmann.
