Don't be a Jonah.

"Why are you arguing with that person instead of witnessing to that person?  Why are you avoiding that person instead of witnessing to that person?  

Read Jonah.  The entire book.

Jonah was sent by God to go preach to Nineveh.  Jonah didn't want to go, so he ran.  He entered a ship, which God allowed to be tossed in a storm.  Jonah confessed that he was the problem and convinced the ships crew to throw him overboard, which they did.  Of course, we know that Jonah was swallowed by a huge sea creature, which was actually protection for him, for the moment.  Jonah cried, prayed, confessed and bargained with God.  God made the sea creature throw Jonah up and out, amazingly, on to dry land. Jonah went to Nineveh, like he was supposed to, and prophesied judgment on the people.  The people of Nineveh repented and were forgiven by God. Jonah was angry because he thought the people should have been punished by God, and therefore should not have been given a chance to repent.  In the following days, after some particular incidences with Jonah, God had to show Jonah that he (Jonah) was more concerned for a dead tree than he wanted God to be for people/humans/souls!

This is what God  also showed  me the last time I read Jonah.  Sometimes, we want people to stay as "bad" as we think they are so that we can continue to treat them for being bad.  We want the person who owes us to avoid paying us back, so we can keep reminding them and hold it over their head.  We want that particular person to keep failing at whatever they do or never get a job, so that we can continue to point it out to them how worthless and not as worthy of as much praise as we are.  Sometimes, we want people to stay down because we humans know that if that person or those people rise up/hear God/get better, then we have to treat them better, respond to them more respectfully, and include them in the group as an equal. Even if nothing is wrong with that person or those people, we still may not want God to bless them because we don't think they deserve blessings because they are not as good as we are or because they don't think we are as good as they are.  

Their spiritual, emotional, financial, intellectual, or psychological "salvation" doesn't mean that you have to rekindle the friendship, relationship, work situation or marriage.  It just means that you led them to Christ to have a better life or planted or watered the seed like you were supposed to and went on your way and let them go on their way. 

Who are you/we wishing into continual failure instead of witnessing them into salvation?  Perhaps, you/we need to change ourselves first, ask God to create in us a clean heart, so that we can truly desire for others to rise up and see them as the equals they have always been that we inwardly don't want them to be or that we let go of our judgment of being better than someone else.            ​

Now, GO! (Matthew 28:19-20)
 

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