I’ve been reading Job lately and apparently I haven’t read Job in a while…or ever…because this book took me by surprise. I always remembered Job as being a man of wisdom, unwavering in his faith…isn’t that what they taught us in Sunday School? But, as I read, I struggled with discernment. Who are the “wise” ones?
A little background: Some believe this book is a factual story about a real man. Some people believe this book is allegorical. Basically God allows Satan to have his way with Job, and in the end Job ends up losing his wealth, his children, and eventually his health. Although Job wasn’t perfect, he certainly was a good guy. Job was described in the 2nd chapter by God as being “the finest man in all the earth – a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil.”(2:3 NLT)
Naturally, I thought Job was wise. For example, after all this turmoil his wife told him to just curse God and die. His response was, “You talk like a Godless woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (2:10 NLT)
But, then Job starts to whine about his condition because he sees himself as such a righteous person…someone who doesn’t deserve such harsh treatment. I started to question Job, thinking, Job surely thinks highly of himself. Arrogant? A little bit.
Eventually his friends come to see him when they heard of his suffering. When they get there, they tear their robes when they see his grief and then sit there silently with him for seven days. When I read this I thought, Wow, these are true friends. They are sharing his grief and just their presence is comforting enough. They don’t even need to say anything.
But, then the friends start to open their mouths. At first, I thought these friends were so wise. They said things like, “In the past you have encouraged many a troubled soul to trust in God; you have supported those who are weak. Your words have strengthened the fallen; you steadied those who wavered. But now when trouble strikes, you faint and are broken. Does your reverence for God give you no confidence? Shouldn’t you believe that God will care for those who are upright?…My advice to you is this: Go to God and present your case to Him. For He does great works too marvelous to understand. He performs miracles without number.” (4:3-6, 5:8-9)
Wow! What sound advice! They are so wise! Of course when we are in trials we should turn to God because He does come to us and shower us with His grace. I read on for a while, assuming these friends were speaking truth…until I started to find some…actually many…questionable statements:
“Your children obviously sinned against Him, so their punishment was well deserved.” (8:4 NLT) Hmmm…that’s a little harsh and presumptuous.
“You claim, ‘My teaching is pure,’ and ‘I am clean in the sight of God.’ If only God would speak; if only He would tell you what He thinks…Listen! God is doubtless punishing you far less than you deserve!” (11:4-6 NLT) What the…? Who are we to place judgment on anyone?
So, obviously I discovered that although some of what they said in the beginning sounded like truth, much of what they said was clearly not.
I’ve always struggled with discernment. I am easily swayed by people’s actions and arguments. When someone speaks a little bit of truth, I begin to trust their judgment in everything. But after I saw how duped I was by Job and his friends, I started to realize that I listen to people more than I should. And, I depend too much on the words of people rather than the Word of God.
Is this how evil people rise to leadership? They say a few things that make sense to people, and suddenly everything they say is truth? Is that how Hitler convinced so many people that it was a good idea to annihilate the Jews?
It’s actually scary to me to think of how many people in this world…even in my little corner of the world…speak truth and lies in the same breath. Politicians, advertisers, the people we meet at the bar who just want to take advantage of us, and even our friends.
But, I’m not only scared, I’m also sad. I’m sad that many of these people don’t even realize what they are speaking is a lie. Job truly thought that he had lead a perfect life. Job’s friends truly thought that any trial we face is a punishment from God. Just like people truly once thought that the earth was flat. Sometimes we are so convinced that something is true, when in truth, we couldn’t be more wrong.
Frustrating? Yes. Inevitable? Probably. But, are we hopeless in this state of false wisdom?
Although many don’t want to accept this…or perhaps they just haven’t realized it…but the truth is the Bible is our safeguard against false wisdom. If anyone had opened the Bible to see if Hitler was right about genocide, they would have found the truth that: 1) We are not supposed to murder…obvious. 2) God wants us to love one another. 3) We are suppose to even love and pray for our enemies. 4) God loves and uses people from all races, genders, and ages. He is a God who loves diversity. I think this indicates that genocide is not the will of God.
But, it’s not just power-hungry dictators that ignore God’s will and proclaim truth that is in fact false. I do it, too.
So many times I’ve been talking to someone and trying to help a situation…but then suddenly I let my own false understandings spill out. Later I think, “Why did I say that? Is that even true?” It makes James’ warning about our tongues (or words) more personal:
“People can tame all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing pour out of the same mouth. Surely, this is not right!” (James 3:7-11 NLT)
He also compares our tongues to the rudder that steers a massive ship, the bit in the mouth of a horse that controls the direction it turns, and the tiny spark that can start a great fire. Just one word out of my mouth can change a person’s life…for good or bad. Yikes! That’s a heavy responsibility.
So, what do I do about it? Obviously, I must be careful with my words. And, in order to know that what I’m saying is truth, I have to saturate myself with the Bible…which is the only truth that I can easily access and completely trust. I also have to pray for wisdom and that the Holy Spirit will give me the truth I need when I need it. This isn’t something that I can just do once and then say I’m good for life. I have to be constantly reading and praying and keeping myself in check.
And, how do I trust other people? Just find out where they get their “wisdom”. Do they claim it’s from God? As I saturate myself with the Word of God and ask God to give me discernment, I’ll know who is legit and who needs to be slapped upside the head.
