Is my complaint directed to a human being? Why should I not be impatient? – Job 21:4

Today's Scripture Reading (July 19, 2021): Job 21

Scottish comedian Billy Connolly once commented, "Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? ...He's a mile away and you've got his shoes." The comment was meant to be funny, but as with many things that we laugh at, there is also an element of truth in the joke. We often seem to like to distance ourselves from people in pain. We don't want to empathize, and we definitely don't want to walk in their shoes. We already have enough pain in our own lives without wanting to feel the pain of someone else's life.

But there are also moments when we can't help but be confronted with the pain that is an ever-present characteristic of life. A friend gets a disappointing health diagnosis, or a neighbor is confronted by tragedy. We don't want to feel the pain, but we can't help it. We don't want to empathize, but we suddenly find ourselves in their shoes, and we aren't a mile away. We find ourselves in the midst of the human story, and we realize that we are related to each other by our pain.

Job asks an essential question of his tormentors. Are you human? Rather than criticize what you think my life choices might be, why can't you walk beside me, walk a mile in my shoes? If you were a human being, you would understand my impatience. If you have walked a mile in my shoes, you would be as impatient as I am.

There is truth in Billy Connolly's joke. But there shouldn't be. We need to be a part of the lives of the people around us. But more importantly, they need us. It is maybe the truth that we miss in the story of Job. Job needs his tormentors; he needs someone to hear his complaint. But all that Job's friends want to do is find themselves, emotionally, a mile away from Job. They don't want to feel his pain because it will only remind them of the reality of the pain in their own lives.

We need to learn to walk in each other's shoes because we all need someone in our lives who is willing to feel our pain. Of course, all of us feel pain.  But we also need to learn to walk in circles so that when we have walked the mile in our friend's shoes, we find ourselves not a mile away but standing beside our colleague with tears in our eyes and pain in our hearts. At that moment, we become the human beings that we aspire to be and invaluable partners in the lives of those who choose to gather around us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 22