But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. – Job 13:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 3, 2018): Job 13

Last month the auto dealer Kia got in trouble for a practice that is becoming an issue in many industries; placing important information in the “fine print” at the end of the contract. In the case of the Kia fine print episode, the couple paid for options that, according to Kia, ended up not being available on the model. The fine print stated that Kia reserved the right to change the options available with the package without notice. The couple bought the car from what Kia insists was an outdated brochure, but the customer felt like they had paid for $1,000 worth of options they hadn’t received. Other examples of the practice include a fast food franchise that offers a $5 meal deal with fine print that states that the price of deal varies in different areas of the country. Or an airline which recently held a seat sale with the fine print clearly stating that the prices were for comparison only and that the final price of the flight would be decided when the customer paid to book the fight. It reminds me of an independent gas station owner who was frustrated with a gas war and low fuel prices and eventually decided to drop his fuel prices to an impossibly low amount and then immediately locked the door of his service station. You could compare the fuel prices all that you wanted, but you still were not going to get that good a deal on the price of gas for your car.

The answer from consumer experts is to never buy anything off of a single source. If you are buying a Kia, look at the advertising from the car company, but then go to the dealer and confirm the deal, itemizing the options that you are expecting to receive and verifying that the dealer is willing to deliver those options. In the case of the Kia sale, the car company eventually agreed to refund the $1,000 to the customer, but the problem that remains is that the customer is still stuck with a car that is missing options that they wanted and for which they were willing to pay, but were also never delivered.

I am not a salesman, and people who argue that I am a “Salesman for God” have never convinced me of the truth of that statement. And yet, the evidence is there. Anyone who advocates for faith is involved in a sales process. I have good friends who do not believe in God, and my response is usually an easy one. When they outline the characteristics of the God that they do not believe in, often I agree – I don’t believe in that God either. But somehow they have met a salesman that has got the options wrong; someone who has argued for options, like a life without struggle or problems, that I don’t believe were ever included in the idea of belief and faith.

And this is where Job finds himself. His friends are arguing that Job has wronged God on the evidence of his present circumstance. Job disagrees and is showing evidence here of his frustration with the salesmen of God who are gathering around him. Not being able to make sense of his current situation was frustrating enough to Job, what he didn’t need was salesmen trying to sell him wrong answers to the crisis that Job was experiencing.

And so Job argues that he wants to take the discussion to the dealer. He didn’t want to deal with the salesmen any longer; he was tired of their wrong answers. He wanted the opportunity to reason with God himself.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 14