Job CCXLI

 Cogito, ergo sum, is how Descartes defined his existence. I think, therefore I am was the summation of the first principle of his philosophy, although it doesn’t sound nearly as cool in French. Perhaps that’s why he decided to go the Latin route, because, let’s face it, few things sound robust and masculine in French. 

Eliphaz had come to the same conclusion about Job, insisting that he had committed wickedness; therefore, he was justly suffering as punishment for those sins. You suffer, therefore you’ve sinned. To him, it was a simple premise of cause and effect. What has befallen you is a direct result and consequence of what you did, and there could be no other explanation for it. Therefore, snares are all around you, and sudden fear troubles you, or darkness so that you cannot see, and an abundance of water covers you.

Job wasn’t in a court of law; he wasn’t being tried by a jury of his peers, but it sure felt like it by this point. What’s worse, the prosecution had no evidence, no witnesses, no tangible proof that their accusations had any teeth or legs upon which to stand. There wasn’t even the pretense of a kangaroo court. The jury wouldn’t be locked away for deliberation; there would be no appeal. As far as Job’s friends were concerned, it was a done deal. Job’s suffering was proof of his wrongdoing and wickedness. The guilt as well as the sentence was predetermined, baked in the cake, regardless of the evidence or lack thereof. Guilt had already been pronounced, and all that was left was for the accused to admit to it. Just say you did the things we’re accusing you of, and we can move on from this!

An accusation without proof is, by definition, a false accusation: groundless, unfounded, and unsubstantiated. When the Word tells us that Satan is the accuser of the brethren, who accused them before God day and night, we can infer that his accusations were as baseless as the accusations Eliphaz was making against Job.

There is a difference between exposing sin in the camp and making false accusations. One is biblical, right, and noble, and should be done if the underlying purpose is to have a healthy, vibrant body of believers, while the other is something the devil would do. I’m coming up on forty years of ministry. I started out as my grandfather’s interpreter at the age of twelve, and over the course of four decades, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen people who, under the guise of exposing wickedness, were just trying to tear someone down so they could take their place, I’ve seen true and actionable evidence brought forth for the purpose of exposing wickedness, and everything in between.

You learn to tell which is which, even when the individual who is letting you into their confidence is a good actor. If it comes in the form of gossip, if what they’re inferring is second and third-hand innuendo, your duty isn’t to entertain it or give it credence, but ask for evidence, witnesses, or something that will make the situation more than an attempted smear campaign. I heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend, isn’t evidence; it’s gossip. If no such witnesses or evidence exists, shut it down, do not entertain it, because the purpose of the interaction isn’t truth but rather the planting of seeds in the hope of making you pick a side, get into a clique, and adopt a narrative.

Monsters exist, but not everyone who is labeled a monster is one. Evil exists, but not everyone you may disagree with on some tertiary issue is evil. Just because I like pineapple on my pizza and you don’t, it doesn’t make me Ichabod.

Two things can be true at the same time: there is sin in the camp that must be exposed and excised, but the enemy is also doing his utmost to sow division, cause chaos, and bring on a barrage of baseless accusations in the hopes of creating a rift among the household of faith. If we’re busy with the infighting, chances are, we won’t be fighting Satan, and the enemy knows this.

Just because someone takes offense at the way a message was delivered, if it was biblically sound and the individual who delivered it is above reproach, it does not mean they are disqualified from ministry because feelings were bruised. Just because some individuals don’t like what the Bible says, it doesn’t mean we must change the Bible in order to suit their worldview. It is man who must submit to the authority of Scripture, and not Scripture to the authority of man.

The sad reality is that if the unrepentant can’t attack God in person, they’ll seek to undermine, defame, and destroy His representative. To them, it’s nothing personal; it’s a way of validating their unrepentant nature by tearing down the individual who had the temerity to preach the unadulterated truth that convicted them in the moment.

That there are sheep, goats, true shepherds, and hirelings among church-going folk is undeniable. The secret is to be a sheep and not a goat, to find a shepherd and not a hireling, and make certain that what you are being fed is the meat of God’s Word and not just the milk. A true shepherd’s duty is not to accommodate or cater to your flesh but feed your spiritual man. It’s why the consumer-based model of Christianity can never produce true warriors of the faith. The devil knows that, too, so he’s more than happy to prop up, promote, and advance anyone whose mainstay is the superficial, earthly, and fleeting.

The enemy is tenacious. He won’t give up after the first time he fails, nor after the fifth. Satan knows God is omniscient. He knows God knows the end from the beginning of all things, yet that didn’t stop him from repeatedly attempting the same failed tactics. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again is the enemy’s motto, and this is why we are instructed to be on guard, vigilant, and aware of the enemy’s devices.

Eliphaz had allowed himself to be used by Satan to level soul-crushing accusations against Job without a shred of evidence. If anything, this should be a teachable moment for all: do not be an Eliphaz.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCXL

 Sometimes you wish there were a few more adverbs scattered throughout scripture, not because the Word itself or its meaning is difficult to understand, but because they would add a whole new layer of comprehension as to what the individual was feeling at the moment. It would make the heart of certain dialogues and monologues a lot easier to appreciate. Eliphaz’s words to Job were just such a case, where an adverb at the end of his question of whether it was because Job feared God that He corrected him and entered into judgment with him would reveal whether he was getting close to seeing the heart of the matter or was still miles away from recognizing what was happening.

Whether asked sarcastically, condescendingly, introspectively, or inquiringly, we will never know, but given that his follow-up question was “is not your wickedness great, and your iniquity without end”, it’s unlikely that Eliphaz had experienced a moment of epiphany and discernment.

That’s the thing about the Bible: it’s not a novel, and it shouldn’t be read like one. It is the Word of the living God, and as such, adverbs are in short supply because rarely does knowing that someone was sulking, sad, angry, joyful, boisterous, or sarcastic add to the narrative.

Nowadays, we elevate feelings and emotions to such lofty heights as to conclude that they outweigh what the Word of God has to say on a particular topic. The Word of God will always be superior, regardless of the situation or issue. Our duty is obedience and adherence to the Word of God, not trying to explain to the Almighty why we feel what He is asking of us isn’t fair, or that we have a different angle we would encourage Him to pursue. You’re not that smart; I’m not that smart, not by a long shot, and if God has made the way clear, if His Word declares a thing, then whatever it declares is absolute.

A heart not wholly surrendered will always look for wiggle room, exemptions, or worst of all, feel entitled to taking liberties with sin because they hold a certain office or position. To whom much is given, much is required; it’s what the Book says. To allow the flesh to twist it to the point that one comes to believe that the more they are given, the less is required of them isn’t just foolhardy and dangerous, it’s treasonous and criminal.

Eliphaz had not changed his mind on why he believed Job was suffering. He had not been swayed by his friend’s words, nor was he allowing for a different explanation. He was doubling down, and what’s worse, he was making up an entire backstory to justify his position and explain why Job was getting exactly what he deserved.

Job 22:6-11, “For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, and stripped the naked of their clothing. You have not given the weary water to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. But the mighty man possessed the land, and the honorable man dwelt in it. You have sent widows away empty, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden fear troubles you, or darkness so that you cannot see; and an abundance of water covers you.”

If any of the accusations Eliphaz leveled against Job were true, then he was neither blameless nor upright, nor did he fear God and shun evil. What Eliphaz was describing was a man with a heart of stone who would not give the weary water to drink, who would withhold bread from the hungry, who would send widows away empty, and crush the strength of the fatherless.

At this juncture, we must determine that only one of the two could be right in their assessment of Job. Either God was wrong in calling him a blameless and upright man, or Eliphaz was wrong in accusing Job of being what amounts to a monster in human flesh who stripped the naked of their clothing, and sent the hungry away while his larders were full.

Given that man can often be wrong but God never is, I know whose report I would believe, and it’s not Eliphaz’s.

This is what happens when we get into our own heads and don’t allow for spiritual discernment to deter us from following the rabbit trail we’ve happened upon to its rightful end. Three men traveled a long way to comfort their friend in his time of trial, and ended up accusing him of cruelty, sin, and wickedness. If anything Eliphaz had said about Job was true, then Job was a tyrant, and there was no fear of God in him. All three men had known Job long enough to call him a friend, to see his character and devotion to God, yet their preconceptions and reasoning about why they believed he was suffering had brought them to this place of utter callousness.

You know me. You know I would never turn away the hungry or refuse to give water to the thirsty. You know I’ve always helped the poor and have comforted those who were hurting!

We thought we did, we thought we knew you, but then again, would you be in this predicament if you were truly the righteous man you pretended to be?

If their back and forth had ever been about getting to the truth, by this point, it ceased to be. Eliphaz needed to be right, even if he had to make up falsehoods regarding Job’s character to do so. In his heart of hearts, he likely knew Job was not the man he portrayed him to be; he knew Job had never shunned the hungry or the thirsty, or exploited the widow and the orphan, but the all-consuming desire to be right made all of those things irrelevant.

If being right comes at the expense of the truth, if the truth must be left to bleed in the street to satisfy your ego, you’re already in the wrong. You’ve already lost. Whatever victory you think may be had by sacrificing the truth will be a pyrrhic one at best. Truth must be the ideal, the purpose, the goal, even if it requires admitting and acknowledging that we were wrong. For some, that’s one bridge too far, and so they begin to unravel in real time, making up stories in their own heads which they eventually verbalize and insist upon as truth.     

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCXXXIX

 Job 22:1-5, “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: “Can a man be profitable to God, though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, and enters into judgment with you? Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquity without end?”

A man can wax poetic about his deep wisdom for hours on end, then one slip of the tongue upturns the apple cart. It’s usually when they’re frustrated, vexed, or defensive about some untenable position that the mask slips, and the handful of words they say exposes the reality that they were only wise in their own eyes. The knowledge they claimed to have was nonexistent, and although utterly ignorant regarding the nature and character of the God they took it upon themselves to speak on, their pride will convince them they are in the right.

Something Job had said had gotten under Eliphaz’s skin to the extent that whatever façade of wisdom he was trying to project collapsed, and in its stead, we see a man grasping at straws, insisting that God doesn’t care either way. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it a gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? Even if you were the innocent, upright man you claim to be, do you really think God notices or even cares?

Which is it, sir? You can’t have it both ways; you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Either Job was the wicked, unrepentant man you painted him to be, or a righteous man whose righteousness did not move the heart of God, nor affected the way God viewed him. A proverbial ocean separates the righteous from the wicked, the upright from the evil, those who fear the Lord, and those who are indifferent toward Him, and a man can’t be both simultaneously. You have to pick a lane. Either Job was wicked or righteous, but to insist that God didn’t care either way is something so intellectually dishonest as to make us look at Eliphaz in a whole new light.

Perhaps it was due to his status as the eldest among his three friends, the most respected, since he always the first to speak from among them, or the perceived superior wisdom he thought himself to possess over the others, but it seems as though Eliphaz has something to prove, and this last and final speech of his differs in tone and content from all the others we’ve studied thus far.

While the first half of the chapter is brutal in its accusations, assumptions, and innuendos, the second half is far more conciliatory, almost poetic, as though two different streams of thought are vying for control. There is an undeniable duality in Eliphaz. He is a man at odds with himself, struggling between leaning on his own understanding and allowing for the possibility of seeing the situation from a different angle.

Eliphaz is not unique in his struggle between what he can see, touch, intuit, or perceive with his human intellect, and what is beyond his understanding, or ability to reason out on his own. Whatever the situation, whenever we start out believing we know everything there is to know, and there is no new information or evidence that can sway us from this knowledge, or the conclusions we’ve come to in our minds, we’ve shut ourselves off from the possibility that things aren’t as they seem, or that we are not as wise as we thought ourselves to be in our own eyes. I have declared it thusly, and it must be so because I have declared it! And you would be?

Although humility is not a popular virtue nowadays, it is a necessary one for the children of God, because when we walk in humility, we acknowledge that only God is all-knowing, only He is omniscient, and defer to Him on matters that aren’t as clear as we once thought.

Job’s predicament was obvious to everyone. What wasn’t as obvious was why he was in the predicament he was in. Based on what they could see, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar had concluded that the reason for his suffering could be none other than wickedness on his part, some sin heretofore unconfessed that spurned the wrath of God against him.

It’s human nature to try to make sense of what we see and process it in a way that fits neatly into our understanding of the world around us. If I see a bedraggled man on the street, clothes torn and grimy, my first thought is that he must be homeless. If I took a closer look and processed what I was seeing without the filter of my preconception that unkempt, grimy, disheveled individuals are likely homeless, I would have noticed certain details that would contradict my previous conclusions, such as the shoes the man was wearing were higher-end wing tips, the torn suit seemed finely tailored, and based on the new evidence I would have to conclude he’d likely been robbed, beaten bloody, and left in an alley until he came to.

Man judges based on what he can see. God judges based on what is seen, unseen, and what can only be seen by Him. When we appropriate the authority and omniscience of God, and go beyond what we rightly understand, passing judgment on individuals or situations regarding which we do not have complete knowledge, it isn’t a quest for truth that’s egging us on, but our own pride and arrogance.

It’s no sin to abstain from passing judgment. It’s not your place to judge anyway. We cannot infer causality based on probability, then conclude that someone lost a child, a spouse, a parent, or a loved one because they were wicked, or that they’re bedridden because God was punishing them. We’re not talking about sin or wickedness, which, biblically speaking, we have a duty to call out, but rather about assigning guilt for sin or wickedness to someone based on a hardship or trial they are going through.

You are suffering, therefore you have sinned. But I’ve searched my heart, I’ve cried out to God, I’ve asked Him to show me if there is any wickedness in me, and there is nothing. I’m not hiding anything; there is nothing I would not be willing to repent of if He showed me it was contrary to His will because my singular desire is to be pleasing in His sight. Well, that just won’t cut it, because if you hadn’t committed great wickedness, you wouldn’t be suffering; therefore, you must have!

Do not assign purpose to someone’s suffering when no purpose is clear. Only God knows the purpose, and it may be that what we see as punishment for sin is a testing of one’s faith that, once they have endured, will bring about the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

CCXXXVIII

 Job 21:27-34, “Look, I know your thoughts, and the schemes with which you would wrong me. For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’ Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs? For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; they shall be brought out on the day of wrath. Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done? Yet he shall be brought to the grave, and a vigil kept over the tomb. The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; everyone shall follow him, as countless have gone before him. How then can you comfort me with empty words, since falsehood remains in your answers?”

Job knew his friends well enough to predict what they would say in response to his oratory. Even in the midst of the pain and loss he was suffering, he still had presence of mind, he still heard their words, and was able to formulate a cogent, coherent retort in kind. It’s undeniable that Job was made of sturdy stuff, not only possessing a noble character, a pure heart, but also a steel spine that refused to bend to the onslaught of words and accusations spewed at him by his friends. Job was a man of character who held to his convictions and stood on principle. It would be refreshing to see likewise in much of Christendom today, especially when it comes to the self-titled spiritual elites who boast of little to nothing, then somehow always make their way back to sacrificial giving so they can do more of the same.

When the ratio between those who wilt like a plucked rose every time they are called upon to stand for the truth and defend it, and those who will speak the truth, well aware of the backlash they will likely endure, is ten to one, you no longer have to wonder why the church is in the shape it’s in, or why it seems as though we’re spinning our wheels doing little more than going through the motions hoping for something different to occur.

One of the great lessons of life that many today fail to learn is the ability to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. We were never called upon to be man pleasers; we were called upon to be God pleasers. If my words or actions are intended to please men, placate them, or compel them to accept me in their clique, rather than be pleasing to God, I have failed in my mission and will be called to answer for my timidity and disloyalty. Yes, it is disloyal when, knowing what the Word of God says, we choose to dilute it, twist it, and reinterpret it for the sake of acceptance.   

The sifting that is coming upon the household of faith, and some might say the sifting that has already begun, is not undeserved. God didn’t suddenly decide to lay down the law or insist upon righteousness among those claiming to be His. His standard has always been clearly defined in His Word; men just thought they could get away with not even striving to live up to it.

Job knew his friends would either try to twist his words or insist upon evidence regarding the wicked and their seemingly prosperous lives. He likewise knew that their reasoning wouldn’t come from an honest desire to understand, but because they saw their interactions with him as a tug of war, a war of wills, and one they were determined to win, even if they had to play dumb and ask for proof of the obvious.

You speak of these things, but where is the house of the prince, and the dwelling place of the wicked? We don’t see them; can you point them out? I’ve been faced with the same reaction when confronting sin in the church, and how far too many choose the flesh over their spiritual man. Where are these sinners you speak of? Where is all this sin you’re insisting exists in the church? My answer is the same as Job’s was to his friends: just open your eyes and look around. It’s not hard to find. It’s not something hidden anymore; it’s prevalent, cross-denominational, and not reserved to the laymen, but to those who are in authority, and who insist they are the shepherds of the flock of God’s people.

This was to be Zophar’s last attempt at convincing Job he was in the wrong, that he had sinned, that he’d committed wickedness of such offense in God’s sight as to deserve what he was getting and more besides. Job’s final words to his friend were honest and heartbreaking all at once because his friend had not set out to cause him to despair, but rather to comfort him. Somewhere along the way, whether knowingly or unknowingly, he’d turned into his accuser, and once he set out upon his path, he never looked back.

I’ve had a counterargument for everything you’ve said. I’ve shown you that it’s not black and white, but that sometimes what occurs doesn’t make sense, and is incongruent with how we view the world, and existence itself. Sometimes the wicked do prosper, sometimes the righteous do suffer, but you’re unwilling to allow for the possibility that you were wrong in your assessment. How then can you comfort me with empty words, since falsehood remains in your answers?

In the end, we all return to the earth. In the end, we will all stand before an omniscient God who judges with righteous judgment, not based on the titles we held, the wealth we amassed, the honor we received from men, or the image we projected. We will stand before God, who does not see as man sees, but who judges the heart and from whom nothing is hidden.

Joel 2:13, “So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCXXXVII

There’s a reason we are instructed to flee not just evil itself, but the appearance of evil. It’s not because we’re self-righteous, judgmental, or consider ourselves above it all, but because even when in the orbit of the appearance of evil, there is a chance of getting caught in its wake, being associated with things, situations, and individuals who will drag our names down into the mud as surely as theirs. It’s not judgmental to protect one’s spiritual purity. It’s not judgmental to choose not to validate, celebrate, or cosign for the choices of certain individuals who would use your validation as confirmation that the life they’re living really isn’t all that bad.

If the pastor of a mega church, celebrated and elevated to a position of spiritual authority unseen since Paul the Apostle walked the earth, visits me at my house, takes pictures with me, hugs me, smiling as the cameras are rolling, perhaps the things I thought I should divest myself of, repent of, turn away from aren’t necessarily evil. If they were, surely the preacher man would have called me to repentance and insisted I turn from my wicked ways instead of reserving a front row pew for me and my entourage for Sunday service.

No, accidental, or even sporadic proximity is not evidence of guilt, or evidence of sin for that matter, perhaps the most you can say is that they were unwise in choosing their circle of friends, but it goes beyond all that, and when you’re actively courting individuals not because you want to share the light of the Gospel with them but because of the influence you can exploit or the check they might write, don’t be surprised when the chickens start coming home to roost.

As the old world saying goes, you can’t play in the mud and not expect to get any on you.

If we understand that the wages of sin is death, and that those who die in their sins have no hope for recourse once they breathe their last, we likewise understand that anyone in spiritual authority turning a blind eye to someone’s sin because they fear offending them if they were to call them on it, has no love in their heart for the individual but quite the opposite. If you see someone drowning, you throw them a life preserver; you don’t ask them to write you a check to build a new wing on your already opulent building. Eventually, the intent becomes evident, and the drowning man will grow both embittered and disillusioned upon realizing that the individual who presented himself as a caretaker of men’s souls cares nothing for the souls of men but how many zeros they can write on a check.

When Solomon wrote that a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, he knew what he was talking about, even though he ended up not following his own advice. When the richest man to ever live talks about great riches, I would wager it’s not a paltry sum of any sort. One cannot separate who said the thing from the thing itself.

If someone whose diet consists of gas station grilled cheeses tells you that the best meal you’ll ever have is from the rusty food truck down the road, you have every right to be suspicious. If the individual who wouldn’t be caught dead in anything less than a one-star Michelin restaurant says the same thing, you’re more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t a beggar who said that a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches; it was the richest man ever to walk the earth. That should hold some weight, but alas, here we are, thinking nothing of sullying our reputation in exchange for some imagined clout.     

Job 21:22-26, “Can anyone teach God knowledge, since He judges those on high? One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and secure; his pails are full of milk, and the marrow of his bones is moist. Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, never having eaten with pleasure. They lie down alike in the dust, and worms cover them.”

Although Job wasn’t having an existential crisis, he was in the throes of an existential introspection regarding the purpose of man, and trying to make sense of things the human mind could not wrap itself around. We can grapple with it, consider it, question it, but as far as understanding goes, that would mean we understood the mind of God Himself, which the Word clearly states that we cannot.

His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts, and before we think to question, dissent, or otherwise disagree with His sovereign actions or decrees, we must remember He judges those on high.

When those who are tasked with rightly dividing the Word actively attempt to undermine it, twist it, distort it, or outright insist that God was wrong on some topic or another, they are no less attempting to play god as the wicked who believe their rebellion will eventually succeed and God will have to bow to their will rather than them bowing to His will.

Job was a man who went from having everything he’d ever needed to having nothing to his name but a potsherd and some ashes. He’d lived the highest highs and the lowest lows, and with his anecdotal experience as the baseline, concludes that rich or poor, prince or pauper, of great renown or a total unknown, all lie down alike in the dust, and worms cover them. Whether we live to sixty or a hundred, eventually, we all lie down alike in the dust. Whether our pails are full of milk or we’ve never eaten with pleasure, we all share these two things in common: we are all born, and we all die.

It’s as though Job is trying to highlight the absurdity of living for the here and now, for this present life, for this present existence, knowing what the end of all flesh will be. Men build great temples to themselves only to see them torn down and bulldozed to be replaced by fresh temples that will eventually suffer the same fate. There is only one thing we can do in this life that will echo throughout eternity, and that is to be born again, to know Jesus as Lord, King, and Savior, for all else is vanity, folly, and a wasted life.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCXXXVI

 There is one truth Job hits upon that is worth exploring beyond surface level, and that is one of the hallmarks of the wicked being an all-encompassing obsession with self, the moment, their success, and wellbeing, while treating everyone around them, whether friends, family, or their own progeny, with utter disregard.

Were the wicked to hear that God lays up one’s iniquity for his children, their reaction would be a shoulder shrug, an eye roll, and likely an offhand, “what do I care what happens after I’m gone?”

This is what Job means when he asks, what does the wicked care about his household after him? They are the center of their own universe, and if they are no more, then nothing that happens from the moment they breathe their last matters to them in the least.

This mindset isn’t narcissism, as some misdiagnose the malady, because narcissism has more to do with the excessive admiration of oneself, especially one’s physical appearance. If you’ve ever walked by someone who’s been staring at themselves in the mirror for the better part of five minutes, admiring every angle, puckering their lips, sucking in their gut, while smiling approvingly, you’ve come across a narcissist.

What Job is describing when referencing the wicked goes beyond self-admiration, to the point of having a god complex. They see themselves as the masters of their universe, and every relationship they establish, every thing they do, every avenue they pursue, must be in service to them.

Seeing that some of the most wicked men of our generation were also obsessed with extending their lives, immortality, transfers of consciousness, transhumanism, and other pursuits that had them playing at being little gods, only confirms what Job iterated long before these things were technologically feasible, or theoretically probable, if not currently possible.

A narcissist is easy enough to deal with: refuse to acknowledge or validate their self-image or self-importance, and they’ll slink off in a huff, insisting that it’s your loss for failing to see how amazing they are. If narcissism were a rare occurrence, it wouldn’t be a multi-billion-dollar business. The focus isn’t on feeling better but looking better, and those who have no desire to stand out or be admired for their looks, abs, symmetry, or full head of hair can just ignore the narcissists, give them a wide berth, and go on with their lives, unaffected and unperturbed.

A wicked man won’t leave it at that. It is beyond a wicked man’s ability to accept being denied or acknowledge that he is not a godlike figure, and his wrath will be kindled against anyone who dares to stand in his way or contradict him in any manner. A wicked man is dangerous; a narcissist not so much.

There is no thought of what he leaves behind when it comes to a wicked man. Whether it’s a good name, a legacy, children, a family, or relationships, they are a means to an end, and in and of themselves mean nothing to the wicked. So fixated is the wicked on the moment, themselves, and their pleasure that the thought of eternity doesn’t even cross their minds. They refuse to acknowledge that they have a soul, or that there is anything after it is cleaved from the flesh, and they walk the earth no more.

They tend to be in the camp of the mockers, the scoffers, and those who do not acknowledge the existence of a higher power or authority other than themselves. Because of how they view themselves, they will always look down on everyone else, even those demonstrably wiser than themselves, because in their minds, there could be no one wiser than themselves.

Just because the wicked is indifferent toward God, it does not mean God is indifferent toward the wicked.

Psalm 7:11-13, “God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.”

That should utterly terrify anyone who thinks God has given them a pass or does not notice their wickedness and chooses not to repent and turn back from it. They know right from wrong, good from evil, honorable from dishonorable, noble from ignoble, yet choose the wrong, evil, dishonorable, and ignoble consistently.

Romans 1:28-32, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

Why are the wicked wicked? Because they choose to be. Why do wicked men do wicked things? Because it brings them momentary pleasure, or some perverse fulfillment. It’s not that they don’t know any better. It’s not that they don’t know murder is evil, or marring the innocence of the young is vile, demonic, and deserving of death; they just don’t care. They can’t be bothered, and not only do they practice such evils, but also approve of those who practice them. They surround themselves with those of like mind, with hatred of God as their uniting principle.

Whatever the sin, whatever the vice, whatever the perversion, horror, or aberrant practice, the end goal is the same: an outward manifestation of rebellion against God, a shaking of the impotent fist, a beating of the withered chest, and a feeble cry of “we are as gods” heard by no one but themselves.

If not for the pain they cause and the ruin they leave in their wake, the wicked would be pitiable for their self-aggrandizing delusions. Given what we know of the harm they’ve wrought, however, they are contemptible.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCXXXV

 Job 21:17-21, “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, the sorrows God distributes in His anger? They are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that a storm carries away. They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; let Him recompense him, that he may know it. Let his eyes see his destruction, and let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months is cut in half?”

Injustice in a fallen world is not a new thing. Wickedness perpetrated by the wicked is likewise not something novel, yet it still manages to stun us into silence or flush our cheeks with anger when the full breadth of it is exposed, and we see the level of depravity to which men will sink.

Likewise, the righteous wrestling with the reality that, for the most part, there seems to be no punishment or negative impact for the wicked is not new. Job found himself contemplating the lives of the wicked, juxtaposed with his own, and while he suffered in ways difficult to comprehend, it seemed as though the lamp of the wicked did not go out, nor had destruction come upon them.

To his eyes, it seemed unfair and unjust, and if all we had to go by was a snapshot of that moment in time, we might tend to agree with his conclusion. If all you see of the Mona Lisa is her disjointed, crooked nose, and you wonder to yourself why it’s considered a masterpiece, you’re too close. Take a few steps back, and see the whole painting for what it is. Then, perhaps, it will make sense.

When we focus on a single moment in time, or see a snapshot without considering the aggregate, the full picture, or the reality that God’s sovereignty and justice extend beyond this present life, we're likely to reach the same conclusion as Job.

Knowing that all men will answer for their choices, and whether here or beyond this life, they will know true justice, however, gives us a certain level of peace. God is not blind, God is not deaf, God is not indifferent. He sees all, knows all, and though we might feel as though justice tarries, in His time God will avenge, punish, and judge with righteous judgment.

Even the heathen has an innate sense of justice, and of right and wrong. Even the godless know the difference between virtue and hedonism. The only ones who no longer possess this innate moral scale are those whose consciences have been seared, who have wholly given themselves over to wickedness, darkness, and debasement, becoming something other than human beings created in God’s image.

After going without food for two weeks, being battered by a storm that Luke describes as no small tempest, having seen neither sun nor stars for many days, and having given up all hope of being saved, a ship of prisoners being transported to Rome, Paul being among them, ran aground off the coast of the island of Malta.

With no other choice but to make for the coast, those who could swim swam to safety, and those who couldn’t floated on pieces of timber that had once been a mighty galleon of the Roman Empire. Paul had prophesied this outcome. He had seen it unfolding and did not hold back from informing those with whom he was being held captive of what they would encounter.

Once they made it to shore, they ran across the natives, who showed unusual kindness, kindling a fire and making the prisoners and Roman soldiers feel welcome. Although the natives had no knowledge or understanding of God’s law or the justice system of the Roman Empire, they nevertheless possessed that inborn awareness of right and wrong to the point that when Paul was bitten by a viper, they concluded he must have been a murderer, since having escaped the sea, justice would not allow him to live.

Acts 28:3-6, “But when Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow him to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.”

There’s what men think, then there’s what God knows. We live in an age when men are readily taken in by the image others project, and we’ve gone from being able to fool some of the people some of the time to being able to fool most people most of the time. Even so, it’s for a season. Eventually, the truth will out. While the wicked rest easy believing their wickedness will never be exposed, sooner or later their actions come to light because nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

It’s a certainty, so the only unknown variable is the timing of it all. Some hidden things come to light quickly, while others take years, if not decades, to bubble to the surface and be exposed and revealed. Examples of this are numerous and too many to count, but one thing is certain: God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

As pendulum swings go, you couldn’t get more extreme than thinking a man guilty of murder, and concluding justice had found him and his life was forfeit, then believing him to be a god because he survived what no other man could. Job’s friends came close enough, though. Seeing his situation, they had likewise concluded he was guilty, convinced that God was dispensing justice in His righteous anger. Thankfully, upon seeing his restoration, they did not deem Job a god.

Just because the wicked seem to prosper for a season, it will not always be thus. Just because justice seems delayed for some, it does not mean it is denied. Our relationship with God is vertical, and not horizontal. It is not dependent on what others are doing, how they’re living, or whether or not they are prospering. It is not a collective endeavor; it is intimate and personal. The soul that sins will die. The righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.