Balance of the Mind Pt. 2

During yesterday’s declaration (blog) we began the discussion about balance using Ecclesiastes 1:1-8 as our foundation text and we discovered that “time” is interwoven with balance.  Simply put, an equal distribution of time creates balance. 

It goes without saying that we live in a fast paced society complete with various types of technology that can add to or take away from our quality of life depending on how or whether we use it or not.   For example:

·       Social media can be a great way to keep in touch with friends and loved ones; advertise your business at little or no cost; promote “causes”, etc.  However, if I use it for purposes to de-edify others, trash talking and/or if I spend excessive amounts of time on it to the point where I cannot perform my daily tasks, that’s problem.  I am living out of balance;

·       Instant Messaging/Texting:  It’s a great way to send “short” messages to recipients for a variety of reasons:  e.g.: love text to your spouse/children; notify others of your whereabouts; request for information, etc. However, if I use this medium practically “all” the time: during meal time, at work, at the theater, during church service, doctor’s office, bank, in the store, engaged in a face to face conversation, driving, etc.  I am living out of balance;

·       Obviously we need to need to eat to live.  Given that so many of us are on the go from sunrise to sunset, there are occasions when we may not have time to cook so we grab some Fast Food – sometimes.  But if we eat fast food every day, we are living out of balance, teaching our children unhealthy eating habits and we are slowly killing ourselves and them;

·       Most of us have some sort of monthly income or at least we are working towards it.  If we spend our paychecks before we get paid (Pay Day Loans, borrowing from others, living on credit cards, etc.) on “things” (e.g. nails, hair, eyelashes, clothes/shoes we don’t need, entertainment, etc.).  We are living out of balance and above our means;

·       If you are always late, people cannot depend on you to be punctual or to arrive at all, you are living out of balance and there is more than likely a much deeper cause;

·       If you commit to work on a project, help someone with something, meet someone somewhere, etc. and you rarely follow through you are living out of balance and you are a liar.  If you don’t mean it, don’t say it; If you don’t think you can follow through, don’t commit and if by all means you blow it, call the person and repent, turn from your reckless behavior and ask God to help you manage your time better.

o   Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. Matthew 5:37 (NLT)

Tania Not Tanya:  Have you ever heard the saying: “Time is money?”  Do you believe you can put a dollar value on your time?  I don’t know about you, but my time is valuable, especially as I become more seasoned in life.  I don’t want my time wasted by people who tell me they are going to do this, that and the other but don’t and then you can’t find them with a flashlight until they need something from you.  Uh, excuse me?  When we commit to do something or meet somewhere, you never know how much trouble the other party(ies) went through to keep their meeting with you (e.g. babysitter, coming even though they aren't feeling well, rearranging their schedules, etc.)  People who are late ALL the time don’t respect time, yours or theirs.

There are so many other examples I could give about living our lives out of balance from a natural aspect but I will stop at those above because I think by now you have an understanding of what I mean.  But before I cut it off, let’s look at a different set of examples:

·       It is important for us to share our faith with others, but if the only subject I can talk about is God to my non-believing friends, family members, co-workers, etc.  I am living out of balance.  It’s a turn off and eventually people will start to avoid me and I will probably be a challenge for me to win anyone to Christ because their idea of a Christian is someone who pesters people and runs their friends away and that’s probably not going to be very appealing;

·       It is important to read and study the word of God, but if I spend the majority of my time studying to the degree that I neglect my household chores, hygienic needs, my family and/or my job, I am living out of balance.  I am causing division and strife in my house, on my job and I may very well find myself reading by candle light because I didn’t pay the utilities, catch a CPS case for neglect, on Divorce Court because my spouse left me or on unemployment because my boss is sick of me and Jesus;

·       It is important to fast, but if you are fasting “all the time” with no clear direction from the Holy Spirit to the point where you are losing excessive weight and experiencing health challenges you are out of balance;

·       It is absolutely vital that we pray, but if your prayer interferes with your ability to carry out your household chores, meet your family’s needs, you are hollering and screaming to the top of your lungs early in the morning or late at night waking your neighbors, children or spouse and one or all of them bring it to your attention but you continue because you think you’re gonna win them to Christ through the prayer or you’re prayer time is causing you to be late for work, school or other important appointments, you are living out of balance, you are out of order and it is a poor representation as an Ambassador for Christ;

·       It is important that we communicate with others, but if when someone asks you a simple question about how you’re doing, if you had a good weekend, etc. and you start speaking in your religious tongue:

o   Oh bless the Lord, the Holy Ghost came in like a rushing mighty wind and Bishop preached under the anointing, people were slain in the spirit, knocked out under the power of the Holy Spirit and we "churched" it until we worked up an appetite.  Now that would be fine if I didn’t want to be bothered with that person again and I was trying to scare them.  But if my intention was to use that as a tool to invite them to church it most likely ain't gone happen. 

§  Why? I gave them a drink of water with a fire hose and my non-believing friend who has no knowledge of the Holy Ghost, rushing might wind, etc. might think I was talking about a ghost who was in a storm that put some kind of ointment on people who got killed at my church because someone knocked them out and then we sat around and ate chicken while the people died.       

I’m way out of time but I don’t wanna keep you hanging, so make sure you’re on the call tomorrow so we can go deeper

In His New Excellence,

Tania Not Tanya

Balance of the Mind

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,

A right time to plant and another to reap,

A right time to kill and another to heal,

A right time to destroy and another to construct,

A right time to cry and another to laugh,

A right time to lament and another to cheer,

A right time to make love and another to abstain,

A right time to embrace and another to part,

A right time to search and another to count your losses,

A right time to hold on and another to let go,

A right time to rip out and another to mend,

A right time to shut up and another to speak up,

A right time to love and another to hate,

A right time to wage war and another to make peace.  Ecclesiastes 1:2-8 

I participate in Love Life and Victory which is an open forum in which we discuss a variety of topics about life and hosted by Declare Victory.  We talk about balance very often, however, we have not yet had an in-depth discussion about it.  Since our discussion this past Friday it has been on my heart to discuss it (balance) on a deeper level.  As I meditated during my prep time I asked the Lord to lead me to a scripture related to balance as I could not recall one that specifically talks about balance and he immediately reminded me of the Ecclesiastes text above.  While this text could easily be used to discuss “time” it is also very appropriate to use it for this declaration because timing is used in balance.  How?  Keep goin, you’ll see what I mean.

Time:  duration regarded as belonging to the present life as distinct from the life to come or from eternity; finite duration.  Sometimes initial capital letter) a system or method of measuring or reckoning the passage of time.

Balance: a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. (for example an equal distribution of time)

Here’s what I mean about timing and balance:

·       If I spend too much ‘time’ talking and never listening there is no balance;

·       Ladies, if I spend too much time searching for a husband and Men, if you spend too much time waiting for her to show up; you will probably never get married because both of these examples are out of order (balance) biblically.  The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the LORD.  Proverbs 18:22 (NLT))

·       If I spend all my time exercising physically and little or no time exercising spiritually (studying, praying, fasting, worshiping) there is no balance and I will not be healthy. 

o   Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.  1 Timothy 4:8 (NKJV)

o   Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 John 2 (NLT)

Tania Not Tanya moment:  I realize it is popular and religiously expected and accepted to talk about the negative things that happen to ungodly nonbelieving sinners but can we moonwalk back to Proverbs 18:22 for a minute:  The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the LORD.  That means that a nonbeliever can find favor with God because he is honoring God by marrying is wife.  He/they will still be lost eternally if they do not accept Christ as their personal savior, however, while here on earth God will bless their union and the things that come out of that union because of His favor.

What is favor:  something done or granted out of goodwill, rather than from justice or for remuneration; a kind act.  To ask a favor, friendly or well-disposed regard; goodwill; the state of being approved or held in regard.  Excessive kindness or unfair partiality; preferential treatment:   

I’m out of time, so we’ll pick it up tomorrow

In His New Excellence,

Tania Not Tanya

The Sound of Silence Pt. 2

Yesterday’s declaration started off with information about the Global Positioning System (GPS) confirming how much we depend on technology whether we want to believe, accept or admit it. 

Tania Not Tanya moment:  What would you do if suddenly you weren’t able to use your smart devices, the internet and/or any other technology you have become dependent on?  Not necessarily because you didn’t pay your bill but due to a catastrophic event (e.g. earthquake, citywide fire, war).  Do you have an “old school bible”; analog calendar; printout of important contacts – relatives, insurance companies, policy numbers, etc.?

We also talked about possible fears, resistance to and power of silence whether it be to manipulate, establish healthy boundaries, for discipline or to make a stand.  We went deeper when we touched on the importance of silence and listening for “The Sound”.   But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it? The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.  Romans 10:16-17 (The Message) and listening for “The Call” (And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28 (NKJV). 

Tania Not Tanya Nugget:  In short, you cannot hear God and talk at the same time.  It takes discipline to actively wait in silence while you listen for the sound of His call.

What does any of this have to do with a GPS?  I am so glad you asked, but just hold on a minute I’m almost there.

I am a good driver, I can even drive an 18-wheeler aka tractor trailer, however, long distance driving, reading maps and following directions have not always been my “strong suit”.  Hey, don’t judge me I can’t be good at everything (LOL).  Several years ago I was an insurance broker and I had clients all over the bay area from Elk Grove to Marin to Pacifica.  I made good money too, but sweetie, how I got to my appointments was the grace of God some nights.  GPS became affordable just about the time that I moved on to other ventures, but now its standard in most cars and smart phones.  God’s timing is perfect because had GPS been popular when I was in insurance sales making residual income, I would have been a beast.  My challenge was following the directions, second guessing them and patience.  I cannot tell you the number of U-Turns, missed exits and looping back around I have done in my life, especially during my insurance run when I had to try to read directions and drive. Now with voice activation and audible directions I can enter my destination, listen and follow the directions.  Every now and then I may miss a turn, but it’s because I wasn’t paying attention.  

I have also had challenges with following directions on my way to Purpose.  It’s been a while, but I am finally understanding how to use God’s Point System which will always unequivocally without fail keep us on track.  There are times when I will use a GPS, however, my life depends on God’s Point System because His word is a lamp before my feet and a light for my journey.  Psalms 119:105 (CEB).  You see, God’s Point System serves two purposes: it will point us in the right direction as long as we pay attention and we can gain points which are recorded in the Lambs Book of Life.  When it’s all said and done, we’ll be rewarded for how well we followed directions down hemmmm; up yonder but some of those rewards happen down hemmm too. 

I was ecstatic to discover the many similarities between the Global Positioning System and God’s Point System.  Let’s quickly explore them:

·       Both systems have global capability, however, the GPS is limited to the First Heaven but God’s Point System reaches the Third Heaven (I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows.  2 Corinthians 12:2 (NLT))

·       Both systems are easily accessible but require a “receiver” while they are free to consumers, both systems had to be approved by high ranking officials and a heavy price was paid for them to be fully operational: 

o   The GPS was approved by Congress, paid for in cash and favors but managed by the Department of Defense;

o   God’s Point System was approved by the highest ranking official in the universe, El Shaddai, bought with the blood of Jesus Christ and is managed by the Guide along with the Angels of the Host;

·       The GPS project is less than 50 years old, while God’s Point System has been around for thousands of years

·       Similar to the GPS, the invention of God’s Point System is also credited to three individuals: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost; and

·       Like the GPS, God’s Point System can be operated by touch or voice command

o   Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.  Matthew 9:19-20 (NLT)

o   Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, Pslam 107:2 (NKJV)

o   I assure you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea’—and doesn’t waver but believes that what is said will really happen—it will happen.  Matthew 11:23 (CEB)

I’m just sayin …

There are drawbacks of the GPS as compared to God’s Point System.  For example:

·       GPS improvements cannot take place without the approval of Congress whereas God’s Point System has and always will be flawlessly fail proof;

·       Fleet tracking is a nothing new for God’s Point System: The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.  Proverbs 15:3 (NLT)

·       The downside of the GPS cellular telephony is that the consumer has to actually make a call for help, however God’s Point System is enabled so that he will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! Isaiah 65:24 (NLT)

·       God’s Point System does not provide a platform to “study astronomy” as there is no need to study what one created.  He counts the stars and calls them all by name.   Psalm 147:4 (NLT) and Job 9:9 (NLT) He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky. 

Listen, I don’t know where you are on your journey, but if you’re off track, a little frustrated, or ready to quit, I want to admonish you, strongly urge you, beg you not to quit.  You’re too close to give up now, just keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin, keep goin...

I’m out of time, I pray that you go and grow as you pursue your purpose with perseverance, patience and poise.

In His New Excellence,

Tania Not Tanya

The Sound of Silence

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The system provides critical capabilities to military, civil and commercial users around the world. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.

The GPS project was developed in 1973 to overcome the limitations of previous navigation systems, however, engineering and study designs date back to the 1960s. GPS was created and realized by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and became fully in 1995.  Three men are credited with its invention: Bradford Parkinson, Roger L. Easton, and Ivan A. Getting.

In 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized the modernization effort, GPS III.  Fast forward to September 24, 2014. Where would we be without the use of our GPS?  Today, with a few simple keystrokes or voice command to our smart devices, laptop or desktop we can easily obtain help: step by step directions using public transportation, walking or driving and weather conditions.  But there are approximately 20 other uses for GPS some of which impact our everyday lives.  For example:

·       Fleet tracking: allows you to determine when you can expect your Home Shopping Network/QVC orders; medicine delivery; etc.

·       Cellular telephony: in laymen’s terms part of this function allows emergency responders to locate 911 callers

·       Astronomy – the scientific study of celestial objects (such as stars, galaxies, planets, moons, and nebulae)

·       GPS air trafficking: aids with travel arrival and departure regardless of whether your flight is for the occasional vacation or the regulars who travel so much that flight attendants know them by name.

Yesterday’s Love, Life and Victory session struck a chord with me, especially towards the end of the call when the dialogue turned towards God’s silence which can be utterly frustrating if we allow it to be.  I want to dovetail off yesterday’s dialogue for today’s declaration and dive a little deeper into the dialogue about God’s silence.

One of the questions I asked myself was: Why are some of us so uncomfortable with silence?  Point in case:

·       During Monday’s declaration Dionne accidently muted her phone during the height of her narrative.  I, personally, was on the edge of my seat as I listened intently to her and then suddenly there was silence for approximately 3-4 minutes but it seemed like an eternity. 

·       For most black Pentecostal churches the only time the “church” is quiet is when no one is there but many of our Caucasian churches have mastered the art of silence as they wait before the Lord.

The answer for me is that we don’t trust it (the silence).  Something about it seems awkward especially if you’re a “talker”.  To avoid the awkwardness we will talk, shuffle, move something, click a pen constantly, play with are hair, engage on our cell phone anything but sit or stand in silence.  But if we fill our space with constant noise (e.g. interruptions, talking, singing, movement, etc.) how can we ever hear God?  Of course we know he has the ability to speak through whirlwinds as he did with Job in chapter 38 but that doesn’t happen very often, it would freak us out and be almost abusive.

Why is the silence important?  Because we learn the discipline of listening. 

·       Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.  1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NLT)

·       I love the KJV:  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you

Listening for what? 

The Call:

·       The call to obedience and salvation – “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.  Hebrews 4:7b (NLT)

·       The call to ministry (service to others, your purpose): My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27 (NLT)

The Sound:

·       The sounds that alert us of our next assignment to those who may be in anguish, pain, depressed, frustrated, etc.; the sound that alerts us of possible confusion and/or danger from those that are liars, thieves, manipulators, robbers, abusers, etc. so we can counter their evil plans; the sound that allows us to be complacent and settle or whatever the case may be

·       The sound to be equipped:  When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.  Acts 2:1-4 (CEB)

I double dog dare you to go somewhere, intentionally look for and purposefully find quiet.  When

you do, listen for it's sound.  If sought for diligently it will change your outlook, and I don't mean your Microsoft account :)

I’m out of time, so we’ll pick it up tomorrow

In His New Excellence,

Tania Not Tanya

Job Pt 16 – Double for Your Trouble

In our last declaration about Job we talked about recycled arguments.  You know the type, those lukewarm and/or heated discussions that one or both parties won’t put to rest.  The Three amigos, Elihu and Job were masters at it by now because that’s pretty much what they did from Chapters 4-37, complete with anger, harsh words, insults, hurt feelings and misperceptions, at least primarily on the part of the Amigos and Elihu.  

But the tables are about to turn as we will see in Chapters 38-39 when God makes a decision to speak to Job.  God can and uses various ways to speak to us.  Personally most of my experiences of God speaking to me have been in the form of a peaceful quiet voice.  In this instance though God spoke to Job through a whirlwind.  I am sure most of you are familiar with a whirlwind as I am, but I decided to review the definition to see if there were any descriptions I was unfamiliar with. 

According to dictionary.com a whirlwind is described as air moving rapidly; moving in violent action or destructive force; to move or travel quickly.  As I meditated I tried to imagine the sound.  Natural whirlwinds are very loud and destructive, generally speaking they will drown out the sound of a human voice and pick up anything in its path causing even more noise.  I imagine God speaking so loudly that it must have scared the “I don’t know what out of Job.”  Consider this; Job had mentioned more than once that he felt abandoned, but he went on and on about the desire to present his case before God.  God showed up unannounced so large that it had to be almost unbearable, like a tornado that cannot be controlled or opposed.  Whirlwind appearances are common for God:

·       God brought Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1-11)

·       God's presence is in the whirlwind (Psalm 77:18; Nahum 1:3)

·       God's coming is like a whirlwind (Isaiah 66:15; Jeremiah 4:13 and 23:19)

·       God appeared to Ezekiel in a whirlwind (Ezekiel 1:4) 

·       Job's troubles began when a “great wind” killed his children (Job 1:19). The Lord was in that storm, and now He speaks from the storm.  What an amazing entrance.

God was not obligated to respond to Job, however, I believe he does because of his love for Job, to vindicate him before his enemies and as a witness of his sovereignty, wisdom and concern for us.  Remember, God was proud of Job, he bragged about him to the accuser which is why he was in this situation in the first place.  God allowed it because he knew what Job was made out of even if Job didn’t know himself. 

In Chapter 37 Elihu ends his monologue but in Chapter 38 God begins with a question:  Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Some scholars believe he is speaking to Elihu who had just ended his monologue completely off track and others say he was speaking to Job.  Regardless to whether it was either of them, it is clear that all of them (Job, the Amigos and Elihu) spoke without accurate knowledge of God’s purpose as we understand it according to Job 1 and 2.  Obviously we shouldn't think that God expected them to know what they could not know; but he could expect them to appreciate that there were aspects to the matter known to God but hidden to man, and these aspects made sense of what seemed to make no sense.   In other words, they could have decided to trust God and the process versus to question and/or speak for him. 

Job wanted an opportunity to question God so God told him to man up because he was gonna interrogate Job and Job had no alternative but to answer.  I won’t take the time to read the beautifully phrased questions that God asked Job in Chapters 37-38 but I will invite you to read those chapters on your own because they will absolutely make you ponder at the greatness of our God.

The irony of God’s questions to Job is that they were unanswerable and were meant to show Job he wasn’t in a position to demand answers from God.  God wasn’t putting Job on blast (or trying to make him look ignorant) in his form of questioning as some might think.  Remember, Job's greatest agony was that he felt God had abandoned him, and now he knew he was not abandoned. Like any true revelation of God there were plenty of elements that would make Job feel small before the greatness of God; yet it could not take away from the massive comfort Job felt in simply being once again consciously in the presence of God.  Wow!!!  I would imagine that this moment made the suffering worth it for God which enabled and empowered Job more than he realized he had the capacity for.

By Chapter 40, God asked Job if he still wanted to argue and Job conceited.  He said: “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say. Job 40:4-5 (The Message).  The questions from God continue through Chapter 41 but something amazing happens in Chapter 42.  Job sees his error of questioning God and he wholeheartedly repents, he realizes his error for mistrusting God through this process and restoration takes place.  But that’s not the end of it.  After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.  So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.”  Job 42:7-8 (The Message).  The Amigos did exactly as the Lord commanded and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

Points to consider:   After all the false accusations, the Amigos are rebuked by God himself for lying on him.  He could have caused suffering in their lives for a just cause up to killing them but instead they were made to offer sacrifices for their sins to Job.  Can you say S H A M E!!  After Job prayed for his friends God fully restored everything he lost, in fact he gave him double for his trouble along with seven more sons and three daughters who were drop dead gorgeous, the most beautiful in all of the nation  Man, MJ was a beast.  Assuming she was his baby momma for this new set a kids, she had 20 kids!!!

We have the privilege of studying/reading about Job’s life to better understand that the righteous suffer as well as the wicked but we always win if we don’t quit.  I’m out of time and this concludes the series of Job.  

In closing, I want to further substantiate the "double for your trouble" I believe is a promise for us: Instead of shame, their[a] portion will be double; instead of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share. They will possess a double portion in their land; everlasting joy will be theirs.  Isaiah 61:7 (CEB)

In His New Excellence,

Tania Not Tanya

Job Pt 15 – Young Bruh’s Drinking Their Kool-Aid

We have been inundated with recycling campaigns for things like aluminum, paper, compost which many Bay Area counties force upon consumers.  But there are also other items that can be recycled which have some type of reward attached to it:  appliances, athletic shoes, batteries, clothes, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), computers and electronics, eyeglasses, foam packing: ink/toner cartridges, phones, clothes hangers (your local dry cleaners is generally happy to re-purpose wire hangers and/or safety pins).  You can even receive a reward for recycling arguments.  Huh?  Yes, you heard me.  Arguments can be recycled but the reward varies from things as small as silence for the rest of the evening by the person who was dumped on to as much as a full blown beat down or even worse an extra hole or opening in your body that you weren’t born with.  Recycled arguments seem to have been the Three Amigo’s strategy, but it didn’t work.

 

Let’s pick up at Chapter 32:  The Three Amigos, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, had finally run empty on words, the well of accusation was finally all dried up.  Frustrated to no end and feelin like utter fools I am sure, because with all of their “wisdom” and eloquence of speech Job wouldn’t budge an inch towards admitting his guilt so they fell silent to defeat. 

However, there was a fourth man, Elihu, who it seems had witnessed the entire accusation campaign, silently cheering for the Three Amigos only to become more frustrated as the days wore on because the elders had made no progress.  They talked a good game about how they were gonna wear Job down and convince him that he must admit his wrong, but they didn’t even come close.  That was it, he couldn’t take any more of this nonsense. 

He finally decides to speak but when he does, he starts off on “10”.  Why is he so angry?  He was highly offended by the ineffectiveness of the Amigos, his elders.  I also believe he sees their “humanness” which may have scared him or burst his bubble, like OMG, they aren’t infallible.  When he realized the Amigos had exhausted their arguments, he exploded with pent-up anger.

He was frustrated because he had remained silent all this time out of respect to their custom hoping they would say something great and philosophical that would bring Job to repentance and none of that happened.  He was also frustrated that Job justified himself rather than God and that Job was more concerned about being right himself than God being right.  But Elihu wasn’t just angry with Job, he was angry with the Three Amigo’s dismal failure at neither coming up with an answer (to the question as to why Job was in this predicament) nor had they proved Job wrong.  He hoped against hope that behind all their rhetoric they would actually say something convincing but it never happened.  He goes on to say that he had believed that the longer you live the wise you become and that getting older doesn’t guarantee good sense but now he realizes his thinking was wrong.  In other words, you are all a bunch of old fools.  He goes on to say how intently he listened to them use just the right words in their arguments but nothing they said even penetrated Job and he wouldn’t let them off the hook by using the excuse ‘they did their best’.  In other words, “excuses only satisfy those who make them.”  This last piece right here though was absolutely classic when he asks he rhetorical question:  Do you three have nothing else to say?   Of course you don’t! Because you’re all fakes!  Wow! Talk about a tongue lashing. 

Chapter 33:  In my sanctified imagination this is how I imagine Elihu finally speaks to Job:   “Hey Job, Bruh, I need to holla at ya about something.  I been had this on my mind and I gotta keep it one hunid.  If you think you can prove me wrong, I won’t have no problem with it, lay it out there Bruh, stand up for yourself.  I’m not trying to say I’m no bigger than you.  We both made out of the same kind of mud.  I put my robes on one sleeve at a time just like you.  Let’s work through this together Bruh and don’t be offended by my passion, it’s just how I flow.  Is that cool?”

Elihu seemed to believe he was just as, if not as good, spiritual and wise as Job and the Three Amigos, and he also believed he could be an effective spokesman before Job and God.  As I read Chapter 32 and the first few verses of Chapter 33, Elihu’s character flaws jumped off the page at me and I frowned immediately.  1) he talks too much; 2) he repeats himself; 3) he seems conceited, 4) he believes God is using him to correct Job and 5) he does the exact same thing as the Amigos, .  He misreads Job’s predicament and accuses him without even asking if he sinned.  Can somebody say “recycling in progress?”  But not everything about Elihu is wrong.  He makes some valid points, he exemplifies some compassion in his speech and he still has youth on his side.  If he was alive today he would be a perfect candidate for someone to snatch his “Kool-Aid” out of his hand so he won’t overdose and then mentor him.

Verses 8-11:  Elihu’s interpretation of Job’s comments were wrong just as the Amigos.  They claim he said he was pure when in fact Job said on more than one occasion that he was a sinner which is one of the reasons he offered sacrifices to God, duh!!!  Elihu accuses Job of being self-righteous just like the Three Amigos – sounds like the same recycled argument to me.

Verses 12-30: Young Bruh, Elihu, begins his speech with a well-known fact which is that God is greater than me.  That’s not even a discussion on the table, it’s not up for debate, it goes without saying.  What is the point young Bruh?  Then he goes on and on about the way God works.  Well, first of all, God does amazing customized things all the time, it’s really kind of hard to put him in a box and say he does X Y Z and 1 2 3 because if there is one thing that I know about God, as soon as you think you’ve got him figured out, he’ll put a spin on that thing and leave you there scratchin your head, “down hem”.   I know I have to stop, but you’ve gotta hear the summation of these last two verses:

Verses 31-33:  In my sanctified imagination, I’m thinking that perhaps Elihu gets the sense or maybe even sees Job’s face all bunched up trying to figure out what in the world this young Bruh is talking about.  And then he asks himself:  “Does the boy just like to hear himself talk or what?”  By now Job can’t tell whether he’d rather hear the old school rhetoric from the Amigos or have someone take a pin and pop open his boils.  As he continues the conversation in his head: “This kid won’t shut up!!!  Wait; Did he just tell me to shut up because he’s not finished and that he’s going to teach me about the basics of wisdom?”  Job bit his tongue to keep from saying anything out loud and then he had another crazy thought: “OK, God, am I being punked? Is that what it is?”  Job stood up.  He looked behind himself to see if anyone was there. He didn’t see a camera crew or Ashton.  “Oh snap, cameras haven’t been invented yet.  I know, maybe I’ll pinch myself to make sure I’m dreaming.  This just has to be one long continuous nightmare.”  Meanwhile everyone is looking at Job like he’s crazy because it is apparent that he has completely tuned Elihu out, he’s mumbling and pinching himself.  Cognizant of their stares, he returns to the reality of the noise coming out of Elihu’s mouth, and tries to refocus and it is then when he hears him say:  “If you think of anything I should know, tell me.  Otherwise keep listening, don’t distract me with interruptions.”  Job thought to himself again: “so is that a trick statement?  How can I tell him anything unless I interrupt him if he won’t shut up?”  I’m confused, I think I’ll just sit here and tune him completely out.

I’m out of time, we’ll have to pick it up next time.

In His New Excellence,

Tania Not Tanya