After a few fits and starts, a reluctant Jonah delivered a message to the wicked city of Nineveh, “Forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed.”

But the people of Nineveh repented, turned from their evil ways and God changed His mind and spared the city. What is at risk of destruction in our country is not a city, but democracy, and I don’t see much repentance and acceptance of responsibility from Donald Trump and his supporters in Congress.

There is more to the story. When Nineveh repented, Jonah was angry. He was hoping for fire and brimstone. That didn’t happen. Now, it was Jonah’s turn; he needed to repent of his anger. Should Donald Trump and his supporters in Congress accept responsibility and repent, Jonah’s experience should be a lesson for those who oppose Donald Trump and his supporters. Responsibility and repentance are best followed by forgiveness and not anger.

As for those who want to move directly to forgiveness without repentance and acceptance of responsibility because that will cause division, I can imagine what my grandson might say when his mother grounds him for an infraction. “But mom, if you punish me it will cause division in the family.”

— Roger Hull

China Grove