Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on. – Job 21:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 1, 2012): Job 21

I have noticed that our first reaction to something that we don’t know or are threatened by is to make fun of it. About a year ago a sat down with a group of Pastor’s and we started to talk about what seems to be a discrepancy between the love of God and the violence of the Hebrew Bible. My explanation for the discrepancy is that we have not always understood God the way that we do now. God’s revelation to us was incomplete until the time of Jesus. We interpreted our situations in a time that was ruled by violence with violent solutions. Even when Jesus did come and completely reveal God to us, the idea that God is love was one of the hardest attributes of God for us to really understand.

The reaction of one of my new friends to my idea was to make fun of my solution. Now, I admit that I could be wrong, but there is something hurtful about being just written off with a laugh. What we want is for our ideas to be honestly considered, weighed and evaluated. It is the way that breakthroughs happen. But for an idea to be just dismissed hurts.

Ideas are cumulative. Again, we often don’t think of them that way. But all of us build on the shoulders of those that came before. Geniuses of the past made breakthroughs, but if their ideas had stopped there we would have missed so much. Others needed to come along side the idea to allow the new concept to accomplish all that it could. Einstein broke ground with his theories, but today a first year University student can understand his theories. Today, people work at taking his theories to the next level.

We all get mocked. And some level we expect it. But what we really need is to be listened to. It is Job’s request. Go ahead and mock me, but listen to me first. Consider what it is that I have to say. And then, if I can’t move you, you can continue to make fun of me.

Mocking is part of life, but we stand with Job and ask that those who would mock would at least listen to us first.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 22