Today’s Reading: Job 20; Mark 3, 4
Scripture: Job 20:4-5
“Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since man was placed on the earth,
that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment."
Observation: Zophar, along with Job's other "friends" in his suffering is incensed at Job's insistence on innocence. All are convinced that Job is suffering because of his own misdeeds (although they have not been able to give a single concrete example of one).
Here, Zophar repeats the accepted religious mythology: "the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment." And, he couches it in language designed to present this as a well-established truth that no reasonable person could disagree with.
Application: The only problem with the "truth" that Zophar confidently asserts is that it is false. Other than that, it is great advice! The real truth is this: wicked, godless people often enjoy lives that evidence obvious power, pleasure, fame, and fortune. They can have wealth and ease throughout their lives. So is that "brief" or "but a moment?" Maybe in geological terms, but in terms that a suffering person relates to, no. So Zophar's assertion is not only untrue, but, compounds the ugly accusations of those who are supposed to be his comforters.
Christians have a number of convenient lies that we hold to and repeat with confidence but that are not true.
(Example: I have heard this advice given: "Don't say 'I'd never go to Africa because once you say that, God will send you there.'")
We need to look to the word of God for our information and hold tightly to the truths we find there. We can offer those as reliable truth in our counsel to others. Everything else we need to give as suggestions or opinions.
Prayer: Lord, make me a faithful teller of truth. Show me the convenient lies that I have accepted unaware. Help me to give the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
