Job 16.5 But my
mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. –
Job
The dialogue in Job between Job and his friends often
seems to boil down to a war of words – much like a current presidential
election. I have a friend who sometimes reads my posts and even comments on
them; I like it when he does. But he also posts some of the most vicious political
polemics and I don’t like it when he does. Job didn’t like it when his friends
called him a secret sinner…
I sometimes read articles that I probably shouldn’t read
where the authors use words that are too big for me. One of the big words is, schadenfreude (shodden – froy – deh).
Schadenfreude is a German word for taking or deriving pleasure at another’s
misfortunes. Schadenfreude is not as old as Job but it seems taking pleasure at
other’s misfortunes is: Job’s friends were convinced Job was a secret sinner.
I watched the first part of the movie, The Imitation Game last night. I would’ve
watched all of it, but these days, when bedtime calls, one obeys; or suffers
for it the next morning… In the movie, the main character, Alan Turing (played
by Benedict Cumberbatch) said this, “People speak in code; they say one thing,
but mean another.” I thought about Job as I watched the movie.
And we do; we say
one thing but mean another. And we do that all the time.
Job was innocent in his eyes. He didn’t ask for his
misfortune and hadn’t a clue that the Almighty had given permission for him to
suffer as he did. Job also hadn’t a clue that God loved him. He thought all he did out of his obedience to his
upbringing impressed God. He didn’t realize God loved him. And neither did Job’s
friends realize the love of God for Job, and for themselves. So, they talked in
code and when they became exasperated with each other, they retreated to
schadenfreude: if you won’t admit I’m
right, I’m going to smile wickedly, and watch as you burn.
Job is a book for the ages, but Christ is the Savior for
eternity. Eternity, depending on how one views it, isn’t a concept for then, it’s a concept for now. When does eternity begin? It’s
already begun; it’s already going. Jesus is the Savior of eternity – meaning, He is eternal. His life on earth was
limited to a specific point in time, but He is eternal. And, so will you and I
be, if He is our Savior for eternity.
Job is a book about stuff
happening, and stuff happens. But
stuff happening is apart from God’s eternal presence. And God’s love is above
the wars of words and the ensuing schadenfreude. For the modern reader of
Scripture, Job (the book) is a reminder that in the midst of stuff happening
(for whatever reason it happens), God is present and loves us in the midst of
it; His love sees us through it. We are called to believe that. We’re called to
speak the truth (non-code) in love and as Job says above: my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you
relief. O, that we could learn that.
Father in Heaven, You didn’t give us half the story; You
gave us the whole thing (or at least as much as You deemed necessary for us to
understand). Lord, we are to speak the truth in love and we are to comfort and
encourage one another, not battle over words. Help me to be an encourager and
to speak Your un-coded truth. May I be a blessing to others and a comfort to
those in sorrow – Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment