Job CCLX

 You’ll know you’re over the target when the response to your quoting Scripture is an ad hominem personal attack that has nothing to do with the initial discussion. When men can’t defend their positions because they are contrary to what the Word says, it becomes personal, and whatever they can do to deflect from their error, they will do with gusto.

It’s no less than what Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar attempted to do to Job, with an added layer of unsubstantiated accusations leveled against him, because he’d exposed the one thing they couldn’t admit to: not everything is black and white, not every situation is clear-cut, and anyone who insists they know the truth of every matter, regardless of how nuanced, complicated, or shrouded in mystery, is doing it to feed their ego. For some, the hardest words they will ever utter are “I don’t know” and “I was wrong.” They are so difficult to pass our lips that we would rather drag someone through the mud, accuse them of wickedness, attack their character, and latch onto things that were never part of the initial conversation, all in the hope of avoiding saying them.  

“The Word of God says to resist the devil, strive to enter through the narrow gate, and walk circumspectly because the days are evil.”

“You’re fat!”

“Thanks for the reminder. I do own a mirror. Now what about the thing the Bible says?”

“You’re still fat!”

So much for reasoning together and allowing the Spirit of God to bring clarity. So much for iron sharpening iron and allowing the Word of God to have the final say on the matter.

When all we’re told repeatedly from various pulpits of various denominations that the only thing for us to do is wait for the catching away, perhaps picking some belly button lint just to pass the time, but nothing more aggressive than that, it’s no wonder the world is still lost and the devil is making headway into places and institutions once considered sacrosanct and beyond his reach. We have become warriors without armor, sojourners without a destination, leaders without vision, followers without purpose, shepherds without integrity, and servants in open rebellion to their Master. But sure, tell me more about how we’ll rule the nations, how justice will run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty river.  

The household of faith has a purpose on this earth, and it’s not being ineffective, indifferent, and unconcerned. Neither is our purpose to build up our earthly kingdoms or promote ourselves as individuals as though we were a viable replacement for the King of Kings, or on equal footing with Him and His authority. Any authority we have was given to us by Him, and if we boast in anything, may it be in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

When we start seeking celebrity rather than obedience, the enemy will be more than happy to facilitate it, because he understands human nature and knows that if the heart yearns for name recognition rather than faithful submission to the will and purpose of God, compromises will be made to attain that goal. Oddly enough, the compromise never errs on the side of truth, righteousness, or sanctification, but always toward permissiveness, duplicity, and more worldly-minded pursuits.

When a wicked man points to other wicked men attempting to highlight their wickedness, it’s not from a sense of justice, but rather a means of deflection. Sure, I’m rotten to the core, but look at those guys over there, they’re as rotten as me just in other areas of life.

When God calls us to righteousness, holiness, and sanctification, it’s not so we can boast about them or perceive ourselves as spiritually superior to others, but to draw nearer to Him and feel His presence in greater and greater measure. God’s closeness should inspire greater humility in the heart of man, rather than boastful buffoonery. The clearer we see His righteousness and holiness, the more evident the insignificance of our own righteousness becomes. Any man who boasts of his righteousness or holiness has not been in close enough proximity to God to understand the folly of their boast.

It would be both refreshing and jarring to see a self-titled spiritual leader today have the self-awareness of Isaiah, and declare that all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags, and it’s because of our iniquity that God has hidden His face from us and consumed us. That would not play well with a modern audience, I fear.

The faux-shepherds can’t risk telling the truth, the pretend sheep don’t want to hear it, and they’ve come to an unspoken, tacit agreement that as long as the preacher keeps preaching lies, the sheep will continue to pretend it’s the truth because the gravy train needs to keep chugging along, and the congregation just wants some fire insurance rather than true transformation.

The farmer already knows which is wheat and which is chaff. The threshing facilitates the separation of the two. God, likewise, already knows those who are His in word and in deed, and those who pretend to be. It’s not a mystery to Him; He doesn’t have to guess at it, but the trials, uncertainty, and persecution on the horizon will separate the sheep from the goats just as surely as the threshing separates the wheat from the chaff.

What some of the more obstinate among us fail to realize is that you can’t fool God into believing you belong to Him when you don’t. God singled out one man and declared him blameless and upright, even though there were doubtless others who pretended to be. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can never fool God. Not even once, not even a little bit, because He knows the hearts of men and nothing is hidden from His sight.

Saying we love God and loving God are two different things. One is performative, self-serving, and self-aggrandizing; the other is authentic, active, and perpetual. If men claim to love God only when they need something from Him, and fall out of love the minute they get what they wanted, it was never love; it was usury. We love God not for what He might do for our career, our net worth, or our romantic endeavors, but for what He has already done, giving His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.     

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.