Job CLXIV

 Job 15:14-16, “What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!”

And here it is. The twist of the knife, the drop of poison, the purpose toward which this entire diatribe was building: doubt. The enemy knew full well that if he could get Job to doubt his relationship with God, his place in God’s kingdom, his devotion, faithfulness, and dedication, everything else would fall like dominoes.

Even though God had declared Job to be a blameless and upright man who feared Him and shunned evil, Eliphaz had another take on the matter. You can’t be pure because no man is pure. You can’t be righteous because no man is righteous. Even heaven had its issues, and pride wormed its way into Lucifer’s heart. What makes you think God sees you as upright when man is incomparably more abominable and filthy than those in the heavenlies?

As moves go, this was a bold one. Satan was speaking of himself and his fall through Eliphaz as evidence that if the heavens are not pure in God’s sight, what chance does man have to attain purity.

It’s the same twisted logic used by many today when they try to explain away God’s continued interaction with His creation, the continuation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or striving for righteousness. I couldn’t do it, so you can’t either. I’ve never experienced it, so whatever you think you’ve experienced is self-delusion at best, and self-deception at worst.

That’s akin to saying that just because I can’t run an eight-minute mile, no one else can, and if they claim to have done it, they’re lying liars and should be branded as such.

Satan knew God had deemed Job as blameless and upright. God has said as much to Satan’s face, yet the father of lies, being who he is, used Eliphaz to try to sow doubt in Job’s heart as to the mere possibility of it. He didn’t say Job wasn’t blameless and upright; he insinuated no man ever could be as such, and so Job couldn’t be either. Cunning devil indeed.

Doubt is one of the enemy’s favorite tools and weapons, having employed it liberally since the dawn of creation. It is via the window of doubt that the serpent convinced Eve to do what she was commanded not to, simply by posing a seemingly innocent question as though he didn’t already know the answer. Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

Maybe you misheard. Maybe you misinterpreted. Maybe, just maybe, your recollection isn’t up to par. Every day, without fail, the enemy tries to plant seeds of doubt in our hearts, hoping that they take root and grow into something so crippling, so destructive, so antithetical to the peace and joy of the Lord that it will asphyxiate not only our communion with God, our fellowship with Him, but our reliance, dependence, and obedience of Him.

Well, yes, God said to trust Him in all things, but He’s taking His sweet time about that one thing. Perhaps you can trust Him about everything else and try to fix that one thing on your own? It would save God some time, you’d get your resolution sooner rather than later, and it’s a win all around. What could be the harm?

The devil never shows up with horns and a pitchfork, promising to drag you to hell, whereupon you will endure eternal torment. The reality of who he is and what his agenda is aren’t really marketable to a mass audience. Nobody’s sitting around in open rebellion thinking eternal torment, that’s my bag, that’s what I’m aiming for. And so, he presents himself as an angel of light, insisting that all he’s really trying to do is help you, broaden your horizons, get you to have a little fun, not be such a stick in the mud, live a little, taste a little, try a little, touch a little, what could be the harm in that?

Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ve all sinned and fallen short, buddy, so keep on sinning. We’ve all been a little faithless when He was faithful, and nothing earth-shattering happened, nobody got struck by lightning, the earth didn’t open up and swallow us whole. See? Nothing to fear, my dear, keep on keeping on.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, your calling isn’t what you were expecting, your ministry isn’t growing at the pace you hoped, your church is half empty, but did you ever consider that it’s because you take Scripture a bit too literally? The whole counsel of God, the undefiled truth, those are big concepts that don’t resonate with the majority. You’re kind of hurting yourself, bucko, if I’m to be perfectly honest. Not to be immodest, but I’ve been around since the dawn of creation, and I can tell you what works.

If it helps, think of it this way: a little bit of truth is better than no truth, isn’t it? That whole thing about a bit of leaven leavening the entire lump is just jealousy talking because they don’t have your talent or charisma. A little leaven is unavoidable, isn’t it? If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, can we really expect purity when it comes to delivering the Word?

 So why not throttle back on that whole repentance, righteousness, holiness, narrative, and meet people where they are? Everyone likes a big house, straight teeth, and a shiny car; the same can’t be said about walking humbly with their Lord. Focus on that for a while, and see what shakes out. It’s not like you’re encouraging them to shave their heads, put on yellow robes and roam about in airports banging tambourines, is it? I’m telling you, a little compromise goes a long way, just wait and see.

It’s basic economics, after all. Once you start going on about Jesus being the only way, you’re limiting your customer base. Inclusivity is the name of the game: big tent and all that. The world will love you for your broad-mindedness, I promise.

And so it is, as it has been since Eve ran into the serpent. First sow doubt, then incrementally, ever so gently, almost imperceptible, convince them to veer off the path, doubt their authority in Christ, question Scripture, debate with God, disagree with God, challenge God, grow bitter toward God, and eventually, see them show up on YouTube talking about how they’re in the process of deconstruction and that faith in God is for the birds and Neanderthals.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.