Today's Scripture Reading (July 16, 2021): Job 18
Has anyone ever said anything which sounded stupid to
you? Sometimes it is hard not to scoff at remarks that you consider to be so
obviously wrong. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, I talked to a friend who was
furious with the Christian community. Apparently, she had been phoning
Christians with her warnings about the pandemic, warnings that her audience had
roughly rebuffed. Admittedly, her beliefs were filled with conspiracy theories
and rumors, and apparently, her audience had not been kind in their response.
And in the process, her anger only grew.
I get it. It is hard not to be taken seriously,
especially when you think you are right. But it is just as hard to hear
something that seems to be so obviously wrong and not even attempt to correct
the error. My friend talked, and I did my best just to listen without any kind
of negative response. It was simply not what my friend needed at this moment. As
far as I was concerned, her theories were filled with holes, but none of that mattered.
Her ideas weren't what was important, not then. My friend was the only thing
that was important in the conversation.
Concerning the pandemic, we all probably believe
something different. Some of you think that the pandemic is a government
conspiracy. Personally, I can't get my head around that. For one thing, I don't
see what the government is getting out of generating the conspiracy. It seems
like a lose-lose situation. I have listened to more political leaders and their
press conferences over the length of the pandemic than I have at any other
point in my life, and the truth is that they seem to make no one happy. It
would be better for the politicians and governments if COVID-19 were something
dreamed up by Stephen King and restricted to one of his novels, so I don't see
why governments would create it. There is just no upside. Besides, the
politicians of this world don't seem to be able to agree on anything; how did
they ever agree on something like a pandemic. But, I guess it is possible?
Do the mRNA vaccines make you magnetic? News anchors
scoff at the idea. And yes, I have tried to stick metal to my skin, including my
vaccination site, and nothing sticks, at least not to me. Does that mean
anything? Maybe; maybe not?
I don't want to challenge your beliefs, but maybe we
need to give ourselves room to disagree with grace, even over things we think
are essential. Perhaps we need to, at the very least, be willing to listen and inclined
to disagree without anger. I don't understand what some of my friends believe,
and they don't understand what I believe. Maybe, in some of these areas, that
is okay, at least, for a while.
Bildad is offended that Job does not accept the
wisdom that is being presented by the friends. He doesn't understand why Job
does not consent and decide to change his ways. But as much as the advice of b's
friends makes sense to them, Job can't get his head around it. It doesn't make
sense to him; it doesn't feel real. In essence, they have been calling Job
stupid, but when Job returns the same attitude to them, they feel insulted.
There is no grace and no room for disagreement. Both sides believe that the
other side is wrong, and they cannot conceive of a world where they are wrong.
Of course, the reader knows that there is more than
enough wrong to go around in the story. No one is right, at least not until God
speaks.
Is it possible that that is the truth in our lives? That,
whatever the situation, we are just people who are waiting for God to speak.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 19
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