Job CLXXXVIII

 I recently had a protracted conversation with a brother about Christ’s warning to His followers to take heed that they not be deceived, and whether the current state of the contemporary church is due to catastrophic failure to heed His admonition on this matter. It was not a lighthearted or easy conversation to have because the first words out of my mouth were that what the church is currently experiencing isn’t deception but willful, open rebellion against the truth of the gospel. Deception and willfully disregarding what you know to be the truth of Scripture are two different things. Unless it’s self-deception, to be deceived requires a third party and an ignorance of the truth. 

When you know what the Bible says on a given topic, but you choose to disregard it, or do the opposite of what it says, it isn’t that you were deceived; you chose to reject the truth. What is happening isn’t deception due to the absence of the knowledge of truth, but a conscious choice to reject it and embrace the lie because they delight in wickedness.

If a preacher tasked with rightly dividing the word of truth delivers messages contrary to it, in opposition to it, and denouncing it, then by their actions, they unmask their true heart and are confirmed to be servants of their father, the devil. It’s not an oopsie. It’s not as though they didn’t see a pair of dark socks in a load of white laundry. It is a concerted, ongoing, deliberate effort to abandon truth, preach lies, and deceive those of the household of faith.

Unless someone can honestly say that the thousands of people sitting in the pews listening to someone preaching heresy never once cracked open their Bibles, never once read Scripture, never once happened upon the countless verses that contradict the words of the lauded man behind the crystal pulpit, then they’re willful participants in being led astray, and not innocent victims of deception.

Back in the day, shortly after communism fell and tourists began flocking to Romania because it was cheap and its geography had broad appeal, attracting both those who prefer the mountains and those who enjoy the sea, three-card monte became all the rage. For those with quick hands and no moral core, it was the sort of ‘business’ that required no upfront investment save for a cardboard box and a deck of cards. When something requires no barrier to entry and the upside potential has no ceiling, it will attract the worst society has to offer, and Romania was no exception.

The premise of the hustle is simple enough: you have three cards, usually two jacks and a queen, or two kings and a queen, facing down, and after the individual shows you the placement, he shuffles them around, and if you can pick the queen you win whatever money you were willing to bet that your eye was quicker than their hand.

You can honestly say that the first few people were deceived because they’d never happened upon anything of the sort; it seemed easy enough, and they were already counting their winnings before they walked away with empty pockets. After the first few, when those who had been tricked, deceived, and separated from their hard-earned money stuck around pleading with passersby not to participate because it was a trick, it was no longer deception but willful ignorance.

The promise of easy money was too tempting, and one after the other, people would sidle up and lose time and again, always justifying the loss as something other than what it was, an in-your-face, unapologetic con.

The same is true for those who having read, and having heard that you must walk circumspectly, be sober-minded, humble yourself, pick up your cross, crucify the old man, and deny your flesh, happen upon a peddler of sloppy grace, cheap salvation, and perpetual fire insurance. Even though they know the Bible says different, even though they’ve heard sermons on righteousness and holiness unto the Lord, the idea that they can have the best of both worlds and still be welcomed to the marriage supper of the Lamb is just too tempting a proposition to discount outright.

They talk themselves into believing that they can do what no one else has: have a divided heart, ride the fence, dip their toe into the mire without getting any mud on their feet, and still be in right standing with God. The promise of everything the world has to offer, and everything God has to offer, without there ever being a conflict of interest, is just too good to pass up, and that’s when the devil sees his opening.

I’ve known men who have gone down the slippery slope of just a little here and a little there that ended up being husks of their former selves, so far removed from truth, so resentful toward Scripture, so acrimonious toward God, that their new mission in life is to prove God wrong about something, anything, thinking if they can get one through the net they open up the possibility of Him being wrong about other things as well.

Just as no one who gets entangled with a con man dealing three-card monte ever walks away a winner, no man who sets himself against God and resists the truth will come out ahead. They may prosper for a season, their congregation may balloon, and money will flow like it was nothing more than printed paper, but in the end, it is destined to crumble for nothing that is built upon a lie, nothing that sustains itself with deception and deceit can hope to survive in the long run.

The cracks are already starting to show. Angry congregants are already beginning to shout down their supposed shepherds for not seeing the thousand-fold return in their bank account, for not seeing their breakthrough, or the infusion of prosperity promised to them if they helped pay off the ministry jet, or buy their bishop the watch that cost more than their entire house. It hasn’t even gotten bad yet, at least not if we believe what the Bible says about the last days.

How do you think these shepherds will fare when true famine sweeps across the land, and the just will live by faith? You spent decades selling people on a pipe dream, on fanciful tales, and vain imaginings, while you could have been preparing them for what the Word says is to come. Now that they have neither prosperity nor faith, now that the Father they claim as theirs, the Father you insisted will take them as they are for the low price of a hand wave, will not acknowledge them as His own because He never knew them, how will you be able to stand under those bright lights and stare them in the face?

Truth is lasting. It has permanence, and while others flounder in their rebellion and self-deception, grasping at straws, looking at yet another date upon which they will be disappointed and their hopes crushed, those who stand firm on the foundation of Scripture will weather the storms, look up, and see their redemption drawing near.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CLXXXVII

 Generally, men react in one of two ways when confronted with wisdom beyond their capacity to process and understand. The first way is to pause, consider, and acknowledge that their understanding is limited, and that, within that limited knowledge, they are unable to grasp the full breadth of what is being said. They’re humble enough to admit that they don’t know everything, and there is still wisdom to be learned. So they ask follow-up questions, clarification, and detail, as was the case with Nicodemus when he came to Jesus by night.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was no fool, nor one for whom wisdom was out of reach, yet the first words that Jesus spoke to him left him scratching his head, all his amassed wisdom no more than a ruin, because he could not wrap his mind around the idea of being born again.

The other way is to condescend, demean, brush off, and patronize, slinging insults as was the case with Festus upon hearing the wisdom of Paul.

Rather than admit to their own ignorance, those who think highly of themselves would rather react with scorn and ridicule because it keeps the image they have of themselves intact, even if it’s empty words and make-believe.

Hundreds of years after Job’s interaction with Bildad, Paul faced a similar retort after passionately detailing his conversion and the sacrifice, resurrection, and Lordship of Christ Jesus, before King Agrippa. A man named Festus spoke up and loudly said, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”

What sparked Festus’s outburst wasn’t the concern that too much learning was driving Paul mad, but that what Paul was saying could not be found in the tomes he, too, had studied. This was wisdom and knowledge on another level, and it made Festus feel small and inferior. He had to save face. He was, after all, in the presence of the king, and it seemed as though Paul was making headway. That could not stand. If anyone were to be seen as a man of wisdom, it would be him, and if you can’t surpass another on merit and skill, you drag them down to your level because it’s the only option afforded to you.

It was the same spirit, just in a different context. There are only so many ways you can call a man a fool, a madman, someone who’s had a break from reality and is now in the throes of madness. Neither Job nor Paul was mad. Neither had lost their mind nor had they broken from reality. Their understanding of the spiritual, the supernatural, or God’s faithfulness in a given situation was simply beyond the level of those they addressed. As a universal defense mechanism, the spiritually inferior parties went on the attack, insisting that what they were saying could not be so because they did not concur or see it in a similar light.

Thankfully, in our day and age, we have a standard for the truth, a standard for godly wisdom, and a standard for knowledge, and though those who are perishing might still see it as foolishness, it is nothing less than the power of God. It’s not access to truth that transforms a man; it is the knowledge thereof, coupled with action, wherein once we know the truth, we are accountable to live it, submit to it, and follow its precepts.

The Bible is the only thing in existence whose widespread availability does not diminish its inherent value. Usually, the rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes, and the more of something you can find at your local five-and-dime, the less value it holds. While you can get a pair of decent sneakers for the price of a not-so-gourmet meal at Olive Garden, people are paying five and six figures for rare pairs of Jordans.

The same cannot be said for the Word of God. Whether, as is the case in certain parts of the world, it’s rare to the point that people will write entire books of the Bible by hand, as individual pages get passed through the community so that they can be copied, or you find one in the nightstand of every motel you spend the night in, the value inherent in Scripture remains constant, undiminished, and priceless.

Men who understood the true worth of the Bible sacrificed livelihoods, freedom, and even their very lives for its sake, making it their mission in life to get as many Bibles into the hands of as many hungry souls as they could. Some spent years in prison, others were not so fortunate and succumbed to the torture and privation they underwent for the high crime of being branded a Bible smuggler.

They were tireless in their endeavor, and no sacrifice was too big. It wasn’t because they treated the gospel as any other book, but because they understood that there was no other book in the world that came close to equaling the power it held, and the wisdom it contained.

To this day, men and women in certain parts of the world are laying down their lives to spread the message of the cross to any who would hear, as well as those who risk a life sentence or worse just to possess a copy of the book that many in the West treat so flippantly.  

That we would spend more time arguing endlessly over things that hold no eternal weight rather than studying the Word of God isn’t just telling but tragic. That we would ignore, dismiss, or disregard the Word for which so many have suffered in lieu of feelings, opinions, fanciful tales, fables, and vain imaginings is simply criminal.

This generation has much to answer for, for it was given much, far more than any other generation that came before it, yet they did nothing with all that they’ve been given. We have encyclopedic amounts of wisdom at our fingertips, everything from the Bible itself to Greek and Hebrew translations, to a glut of commentaries for every book of the Bible. Yet, we’re more confused, lukewarm, undecided, duplicitous, hypocritical, and situational about the faith than any generation to come before us.

We are reticent to obey, unwilling to sacrifice, and have come to believe that humbling ourselves at the foot of the cross is somehow beneath us. Yet, we’re always first in line when it comes to claiming blessings, prosperity, and insisting that we will be caught up first, before any untoward event could impress upon us the need to endure and overcome. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CLXXXVI

 Job 18:1-4, “Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: ‘How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak. Why are we counted as beasts, and regarded as stupid in your sight? You who tear yourself in anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place?’”

Few things in life are more off-putting than being gaslit, and knowing it’s the case. Although not all may know the proper name for it, it’s likely that all of us have experienced it at one time or another. Gaslighting, for those unaware of the term, is a psychological manipulation technique in which a person tries to convince someone that their reality is untrue. It’s a more mature and refined version of don’t believe your lying eyes, or the ever-popular are you going to believe what you know to be true, or what I’m telling you is the truth? It’s a control mechanism, often used by those in power, with influence, and even by friends or family to gain control not only of the narrative but also of their intended target.

People who employ it will often play the victim, even though they are the victimizer, and insist that they have been wronged, misheard, and misinterpreted to the point that their victim becomes apologetic about being unjustly condemned for something they didn’t do. It’s no less than emotional abuse, and it is highly effective, especially with those who find themselves at a low point, are suffering, or have suffered some kind of recent loss.

Even after all three of Job’s friends had taken turns treating him like a human piñata, taking swings they hoped would connect and finally make the man burst open, Bildad takes up the charge anew and accuses Job of being a bully.

Come on now, buddy. I know we said all kinds of horrible things about you, accused you of being in sin so deplorable as to deserve being covered in oozing boils, sitting in the ashes of what was once your fiefdom, if not an outright entrepreneurial empire, but that doesn’t give you the right to hurt our feelings. I mean, you’re being kind of mean; isn’t he, guys? It’s almost like we aren’t even friends. Would a friend really call another friend stupid? That’s what you’re inferring, isn’t it? That we’re stupid? That we don’t know what we’re talking about?

I mean, if anyone’s stupid in this situation. It’s three against one, and even your wife agrees with us, so maybe be a bit humble and gain some understanding. Afterward, we will speak. How does that sound? Maybe use this time to repent for hurting our feelings, that would be swell. Can you believe this guy? You’ve got some gull buddy. All we’re trying to do is help you here. We’ve decided that the best course of action is for you to give up hope and admit to your sin. Why can’t you see that’s the best thing for you?

It’s rare to find another chapter in the entirety of scripture that is as grim, dark, absent of hope, arrogant, and self-assured as Bildad the Shuhite’s second attempt at convincing Job that he is in the wrong for clinging to hope and not confessing to sins he had not committed. If anyone was on the fence about his likability, this second diatribe should settle the matter once and for all.

You may think you’re special, but I’m here to tell you, you’re not! What? Do you now expect the earth to be forsaken for you? Are you so deluded as to believe the rules don’t apply to you? It’s always been a matter of course, going as far back as our fathers’ fathers. The wicked is punished for his wickedness; ergo, if you are being punished, it is because you committed wickedness. Let’s put an end to this charade. Just admit what you did, and we can all get on with our lives, and you can lie here in the dust until you breathe your last, which is nothing less than you deserve.

If ever Bildad had shown the inclination to reason, or extend grace, if ever he’d desired to hear Job out and accept his friend’s words at face value, all that was now gone. He begins his monologue with insults, and just gets worse from there.

Before we can have any meaningful dialogue, you have to come to your senses. You’re talking like a crazy person, and someone has to call you out on it. Gain understanding first, then, perhaps, if you’re willing to acknowledge the brilliance of our arguments and admit wrongdoing, we can have a starting point.

How someone reacts to being challenged is telling in ways mere words could never convey. Job had suffered through three diatribes, always able to state his case, pleading with God, pleading with his friends, and insisting upon his innocence, but once he called them miserable comforters, once he challenged their accusations, all pretense of friendship or kindness went the way of the dodo bird.

It wasn’t that Bildad was interested in Job’s side of the story, or open to an explanation different than what he had concluded. He wanted confirmation bias and wouldn’t let something as silly as facts stand in the way.

You can hear someone without hearing them. Sure enough, the words coming from their lips make a sound in a language you are familiar with; those words construct sentences, but as far as really hearing them, listening, and allowing their words to have an impact on a preconception or a particular worldview, not so much.

I can’t say I’m proud of it, but there are times when I’m in my office, clicking away, so focused on the task at hand that the wife will have been talking to me from the kitchen for a good minute before the ever dreaded “are you hearing me?” breaks through and I acknowledge her asking her to repeat what she’d said. Thankfully, she does, even if it’s with the requisite eye roll, but we’ve been married for twenty-five years, so we know each other well enough by now to extend grace in such matters. The difference between Job’s friends and me is that my not hearing my wife and acknowledging her is not intentional on my part. Their unwillingness of Job’s friends to listen to him and hear what he’d said had intentionality behind it.               

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.