And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. – Job 33:27

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 22, 2018): Job 33

A friend’s car was broken into over the past weekend. Some damage was caused, and there was some theft of the things that had been left inside of the vehicle, including the change that was found in the ashtray. (Just as an aside, it is evidence of our extreme wealth that we keep money in what is essentially a garbage can; just sayin’.) And my friend was suitably upset. Being a religious man, he also called down hellfire on the perpetrators. If there was a bright side in the whole affair, it was the sure knowledge that he was going to heaven, but the lowlife idiots (his words were a little more colorful) who broke into his car would being going someplace else; someplace much hotter.

His emotional outburst was a little amusing (don’t tell him), and a little disturbing. I know we all do it, but it was based on what it is that we think that we deserve. Somehow, when someone wrongs us, we begin to think that we are the perfect ones. Donald Trump does something stupid, and Van Jones reacts as if there was never a moment when he did something as equally stupid. We speak about the racists who mar our societies, and then turn around and put down Muslims (or insert the faith group that annoys you the most here) and think that it is somehow okay because we do it on religious grounds. Maybe that tells us something about ourselves, although I am not sure that we are listening.

Elihu stumbles onto the truth. Job has been working hard to argue his innocence. But the problem is that none of us are truly innocent. There is some wrong that we have all committed. Essentially all that any of us might be able to argue is that we are less wrong than someone else, or that making a racial slur is not as wrong as making a religious one. But none of us, including Donald Trump and Van Jones, can maintain that we have never committed a wrong or a sin for which we require forgiveness from someone.

Job had sinned. He had also made sacrifices for his sin and the sins of his children. At best, Job had worked hard at keeping short accounts with God, asking for forgiveness in the evening for sins that had been committed in the light of the day. And he was working at living a life that could be considered righteous. But he was not innocent. Centuries later, Paul would put together a summary of the biblical understanding of man by writing:

   “There is no one righteous, not even one;
    there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one” (Romans 3:10-12).

Is this a pessimistic outlook on human life? Yes! But if we are honest with ourselves, we also recognize the truth. We are a fallen people. And Elihu’s summation is meant for all of us, including Job. None of us ever truly receive what it is that we deserve. At some point, God’s grace always interferes with that reality.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 34