Job 6 - Who’s Blaming Who?

Yesterday we heard what may have appeared to be unjustified complaining from Job about the catastrophic events that had occurred in his life over the past several months.  I do not believe Job’s intent was to complain, as most of us would have.   Notice his complaint was not accusatory (e.g. You killed all of my children for no reason, you have made me lose all of my property, etc.).  Job's very earnest passionate plea was for God to at least speak to him to let him know whether or not he was in error.  In his heart of hearts I believe that Job had already done a self-check but to be sure he lamented in the presence of his friends after trying to defend himself from their accusations.  I do not believe he was trying to impress them or gain pity but to help them hear his heart, see his sincerity and empathize with his pain from one man to another in regards to his:

• his physical state -- what we believe to have been boils that covered his body and had become infected, produced maggots and I am sure a horrific odor; 
• the isolation of being afflicted;
• the loss of all his property, livestock, and the lifestyle he and his family were accustomed to within a matter of minutes; 
• the unwarranted and unfair rumors and gossip that spread across the country; and
• far worse than losing any of the above was the loss of children and the support of his wife, MJ (Mrs. Job), who I believe checked out mentally.  

But his friends didn't get it because they believed they were right though a better term would be:  they were "self-righteous".

Tania Not Tanya moment:  How many times have you heard someone say:  "I want people around me that will tell me the truth"? Would you rather have friends that never said anything and allowed you to go down a proverbial black hole of mistakes and/or worse, sin; or would you rather your friends at least attempt to start the dialogue about their perception?  I ask because very often, in fact more often than not, when we hear the truth it can sting.  Actually it can feel like someone sucker punched or knocked the wind out of you in some cases, especially when you believe you are 100% right but they show you your error which can be especially hurtful if the truth is not delivered delicately.  It takes a mature person to listen to constructive criticism, meditate on the truth and then make necessary changes.  It's a lot easier to say rather than to do.

Tried as he desperately did, Job was not able to convince his friends of his innocence but the three amigos were hell bent on this self-proclaimed intervention of their dear friend and brother and so they went for Round 2 which is where we will pick up today.

Job Chapter 8:  Bildad spoke next:

I want to believe that Bildad meant well by his counsel to his friend, Job, but the first words out of his mouth must have cut like jagged razors and they were the epitome of sanctimonious accusation and misinterpretation.  The first few sentences of chapter 8 burned like hot grease popping and burning my arm while frying chicken because the fire was too high and it stung and made me jump.  It was mean and disrespectful.  The whole conversation went downhill from there as far as I am concerned.  Listen to this:

“How can you keep on talking like this? You’re talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that. Does God mess up? Does God Almighty ever get things backward? It’s plain that your children sinned against him— otherwise, why would God have punished them? Here’s what you must do—and don’t put it off any longer: Get down on your knees before God Almighty. If you’re as innocent and upright as you say, it’s not too late—he’ll come running; he’ll set everything right again, reestablish your fortunes. Even though you’re not much right now, you’ll end up better than ever. (Job 8:1-7 MSG)

Bildad is the second friend to have a monologue about Job's circumstances without once asking him what happened.  In all of their wise counsel no one asked if he was in error they assumed he was.  I don't mean any harm, but this is a classic case of a religious person on "ten" demanding that Job repent, not now, but right now as if he is speaking directly for and from God.  But to disrespect his friend Job's children and accuse them of sinning against God just really did it for me.  I was done with Bildad after that.  I can only imagine how Job felt.

Sometimes our over zealousness can cause more harm than good and we can come off as being judgmental, inconsiderate, self-righteous religious fanatics if we don't temper our words with grace.  It does not mean compromising the gospel, excepting sin and wickedness wholesale, but you have to catch a fish before you can scale it.  It is our responsibility to create an environment that is inviting and to live a life that people will want what we have, not to chase them away with our opinions.  A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1 NKJV)

The more I study the life of Job and based on my own personal experiences, the more I see how important for me not to "assume" anything about anyone; not to get caught up in the temptation of allowing people to dump their "garbage" aka gossip on me and to avoid the temptation of wanting to heart the juicy details about someone else's life or misfortune.  I have enough on my plate to keep myself in check than to be worried about someone else's drama.  That doesn't mean that I won't be available to lend a kind word, offer support, etc. I'm just cool off judging people especially when I don't have all the facts. I am clear that we can judge a righteous judgment according to the scriptures, those are two different types of judgment, they are like apples and oranges, two different things.

I’m out of time, we’ll have to pick up tomorrow

In His New Excellence,

Tania Not Tanya