Job CCLVII

 Job 24:9-12, “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge from the poor. They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; and they take away the sheaves from the hungry. They press out oil within their walls, and tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst. The dying groan in the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out; yet God does not charge them with wrong.”

The actions of the wicked do not occur in a vacuum. They cannot be done in secret forever. Eventually, the effects of their wickedness are readily visible to anyone with intellectual honesty who does not see the world through the prism of some allegiance, whether to a particular man, a denomination, or a political party, but as it is, warts and all.

Some demand perfection from everyone within their sphere and live in perpetual disappointment. If the microscope were turned on them, they would fail to meet their own standard, but that either doesn’t register or doesn’t bother them to the point of dialing back the rhetoric of calling everyone Ichabod until they’re left alone on their island, praising their own self-righteousness.

That said, there should be a standard and a well-defined separation between the wicked and the righteous. Yes, I expect more from pastors, preachers, teachers, and elders than I do from politicians, athletes, or television personalities, and so does God. To excuse the behaviors of spiritual leaders that are on par with the most hedonistic, deviant, and off-putting practices of the wicked, while demanding righteousness of men who never claimed nor pretended to be spiritual pillars of God’s kingdom, is hypocritical on its face.

Luke 12:47-48, “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”

We cannot invert expectations and expect more of a babe in Christ, or one who has never professed Him, than one who is supposed to be seasoned and mature. A general has a far greater responsibility than does the private, and more is expected of him by the King due to the level of authority committed to him.

Job knew there was a difference between the wicked and the righteous. Job knew what the wicked did, and that he didn’t do likewise. A man can boast of his righteousness yet do as the wicked, proving his boasts to be nothing more than empty words. Likewise, a righteous man can remain silent, speak nothing of his righteousness, yet his consistent, daily actions will reveal his integrity and the content of his character to all those with whom he comes in contact.

If wickedness does not occur in a vacuum, neither does righteousness. One’s actions will speak louder than words, whether their own or the words of others about them, because actions are tangible while words are just that. I can tell my wife and daughters I love them every day, but if my actions belie my words, if everything I do contradicts my declaration of love to them, at some point, they will doubt my sincerity or the veracity of my proclamations.

I love you, Lord, but I don’t want to spend any time in your presence. I love you, Lord, but I want nothing to do with your Word. I love you, Lord, but unless I’m in a pickle and I need some miracle-level intervention, I’d rather not be bothered with anything having to do with anything pertaining to Your kingdom. I love you, Lord, but not to the extent of caring for the widow and orphan, or feeding the hungry. I love you, Lord, but I’d prefer not to deny myself or pick up my cross since I have an aversion to splinters.

When referring to the wicked, Job makes a statement that could also be seen as an open-ended question: why does God not charge the wicked with wrong when the dying groan in the city and the souls of the wounded cry out? The short answer is, He does. Just not in the timeframe we would see as equitable, some not even while here on earth, but judgment is established for the wicked, and none will escape God’s justice, whether here, in eternity, or both.

The big idea in Job’s last response to Eliphaz is that one cannot remain steeped in wickedness, committing wicked deeds, having a heart of stone, and preying and exploiting the poor, the widow, or the orphan if God is the center of their lives. One’s close proximity to the righteousness of God transforms the heart of stone into a heart of flesh; it compels transformation from the inward parts, which is visible in the outward actions.

If no such transformation is forthcoming, if no such change is visible, if the things you sought, desired, or hungered for remain unchanged after your encounter with God, then it was a momentary experience rather than a transformative event that changed the entirety of one’s life trajectory.

Our encounter with God must be no less life-altering than Saul’s encounter on the road to Damascus. We may not see a bright light or hear a voice from heaven as Saul did, but the transformation must be no less life-defining. From that moment, Saul was no longer the man he had once been. He went from being the persecutor of the brethren to the staunchest defender of Jesus throughout the nations. Salvation is transformation, it is rebirth, it is being given a new mind and a new heart that no longer yearns for the things of this world but for the presence of Christ alone.

This is the one thing Job couldn’t get his mind around. How could his friends paint him out to be a man wholly given to wickedness, a man who exploited the poor, and had no empathy for the widow or the orphan, when the singular desire of his heart was to feel God’s presence, and when he knew himself to have treasured the words of His mouth more than necessary food.

Job had never taken to pretending to be something he wasn’t, but by the same token, he wasn’t about to admit to being something he knew himself not to be. There is a time to be silent, then there is a time to speak, but in all his defense, Job did not make it about himself, but rather the juxtaposition of the wicked and the righteous, appealing to God rather than man to vindicate him, and give him justice.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.