Jonah displays a real issue with compassion throughout the first parts of this book. Jonah describes God as gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. However, he didn't want the Lord to show any compassion to those that fell short of his expectations. Even those who worship the Lord could not do so enough to please Jonah.
God disagreed, and then manifested perhaps the greatest lesson to come out of this particular book: Everyone deserves compassion, and by following God's word, they can receive it.
This is a good lesson for seniors on showing compassion for others, even if they don't seem to deserve it at the time. This is a good reflection of God's love for all people. God used Jonah’s reluctant compliance to save the souls of 120,000 people in Nineveh. God accomplishes his purpose of saving Nineveh through Jonah and in spite of Jonah.