What Do I really Know? - Day 285 Month 10-11 Week 39-5
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
1 Chronicles 24, 25, Job 4, Hosea 8, 1 Timothy 5
What Do I Really Know?
“Remember now, whoever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?” (Job 4:7 NASB1995). These were the words of Eliphaz the Temanite. Of course, Eliphaz was not aware of the conversation between God and Satan. His words seemed logical and reasonable. Basically, people get what they deserve. He also said in Job 4:17, “Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his maker?”
These all seem like logical questions when trying to determine someone’s guilt. First, man alone cannot stand justified before a just God or be pure before Him. So I may be taking liberties with the passage, but if we cannot be just before God, we might conclude that we get what we deserve.
I think there is a lesson in this. Eliphaz seems to be making a judgment about Job without knowing all the facts. He’s not finished talking, but I can sense the direction he’s taking in his argument about Job.
When I am working at the hardware store, I hear stories about what is going on in the community. In other words, when I hear gossip being spoken at the store, I’ve learned not to assume it is all factual.
Here’s an example of what I am saying. One person who shops at the store comes in angry at the world. In his gruff talk, he orders what he needs and leaves. He is simply angry at the world. When the guy leaves, my coworkers fill me in. They tell me that one of the contractors had been working at his house and started an affair with the guy’s wife. The wife left her husband and went to live with the contractor. A couple of weeks later, when I was working my Saturday shift, the contractor came in with the other guy’s wife because they were doing some work on the contractor’s house.
I don’t know the facts of the marriage between the woman and her husband. I don’t know what led to the affair. What I do know is that the guy is hurting because his wife left him. I also know that the contractor and the other guy’s wife are together. Anything beyond what I actually know is gossip. I have no reason to judge.
If I were to judge using Eliphaz’s logic, the husband must have done something wrong, and he’s received what he deserved.
The choice I must make is not to judge. What I am called to do is love my neighbour. In this case, all three people need to be loved. I don’t know the real circumstances behind their story. I just know what I know. It’s for God to judge and me to love. Since God is love, we know that God loves all three of those people.
If Eliphaz’s reasoning were right, we might conclude that anyone suffering like Job must deserve it. In one sense, Eliphaz is right that none of us can claim to be perfectly righteous before God. But he is wrong to assume that Job’s suffering proves Job deserved it. I see many people who do evil receiving good things, and I see many people who do good receiving bad things. Scripture teaches that sin leads to death, but God provided a way out. That way out is Jesus. Jesus suffered the penalty for our sins.
Through Jesus, we can be fully justified and stand before God. None of us deserve what Jesus did for us. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. When I think about the grace God has shown me, I am reminded that I need to show that same grace to others. I may not know their circumstances, and I may not agree with their choices, but I am called to love them.
Steve
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