In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him. – Job 20:22

Today's Scripture Reading (August 31, 2024): Job 20

Humor can be a strange thing. Or the things that we call humor can be weird. It isn't just the off-color jokes; tragedy is so often used as a source of our humor. For instance, In the days after the Stock Market Crash in 1929, humorist Will Rogers was quoted as saying. "When Wall Street took that tail spin, you had to stand in line to get a window to jump out of, and speculators were selling spaces for bodies in the East River" (Will Rogers). At the same time, Vaudeville Comedian Eddie Cantor, who lost most of his wealth in the 1929 Crash, joked that "when he requested a 19th-floor room at a New York City hotel, the clerk asked him: "What for? Sleeping or jumping?" Do you find the words funny? Maybe the truth that there were no mass suicides by jumping out of downtown New York skyscrapers helps. Yes, suicides increased between 1929 and 1932, but it was not the epidemic that we seem to think it was. The idea that people were jumping out of windows just isn't true. And it certainly did not happen at the time of the crash but in the aftermath of economic turmoil over the next few years.

That is not to say that suicides didn't happen because of the 1929 Stock Market Crash. On October 24, 1929 (Black Thursday), Chicago real estate investor C. Fred Stewart asphyxiated himself with gas in his kitchen. On October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday), John Schwitzgebel shot himself to death inside a Kansas City club. Down to his last four cents, Wellington Lytle left the following suicide note in his Milwaukee hotel room: "My body should go to science, my soul to [Secretary of Treasury] Andrew W. Mellon and sympathy to my creditors" (Time Magazine, December 23, 1929).

There might not have been mass suicides on the day of the crash, but the financial disaster of 1929 that continued through the first few years of the 1930s did prompt some to take their own lives. They understood the pain of which Zophar speaks. Zophar's description here describes the terror of the financial collapse of October 1929 well. On that day, self-sufficient people lost everything, often including the hope they needed to live.

Zophar's mistake is in assuming Job fell into that category. Yes, Job had been wealthy, but his hope had always been placed in his God. The financial loss was not central to Job's misery; it was not just his financial situation that had changed. He had also lost family and health, which were much more important to Job than his wealth. In light of this, Job struggled to cling to the hope he needed to live. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 21

How long will you torment me and crush me with words? – Job 19:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 30, 2024): Job 19

According to nineteenth-century wisdom, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." It is common wisdom and maybe the best example of wisdom that is simply wrong. We wish this wisdom were true, but it just isn't. Sticks and stones create wounds that will eventually heal, but the names we are called and the words and stories that are told about us leave wounds that might never heal. Most of us bear the wounds of the names someone called us that have never healed. I know I do. All of the people who have doubted me and called me names have left scars on my being, and it is surprising how quickly adverse events can open up those wounds that have never healed in my inner being.

The Book of Sirach, a Hebrew Book of Wisdom written by the scribe Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira between 196 and 179 B.C.E., tells us the truth we know. "The blow of a whip raises a welt, but a blow of the tongue crushes the bones" (Sirach 28:17). Two thousand years before the first mention of this piece of common wisdom, this scribe knew the truth: words are dangerous, and they leave a kind of hurt that may never heal.

And more than 2000 years before Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira taught about the difference between the blow of a whip and the blow of the tongue, Job spoke in agreement with the wisdom author. Here, Job admits that it is not sticks and stones that have crushed him, nor even the accusations of his enemies that have hurt him. It was the comments of his friends that have left him a wounded man. Charles Spurgeon says:

They struck at him with their hard words, as if they were breaking stones on the roadside. We ought to be very careful what we say to those who are suffering affliction and trial, for a word, though it seems to be a very little thing, will often cut far more deeply and wound far more terribly than a razor would." (Charles Spurgeon)

Dwight L. Moody agreed and added this comment to the church of his day. This teaching still applies to our contemporary church, which seems to prioritize orthodoxy over love.

The church has become very jealous about men being unsound in the faith. If a man becomes unsound in the faith, they draw their ecclesiastical swords and cut at him. But he may be ever so unsound in love, and they don't say anything" (D.L. Moody).

It is time that we started to stress what Jesus taught was Important. It is time to love the people around us and to leave the name-calling and unflattering descriptions far behind us.

 Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 20

It eats away parts of his skin; death's firstborn devours his limbs. – Job 18:13

Today's Scripture Reading (August 29, 2024): Job 18

I suffer from a skin condition. Actually, I have suffered from the condition throughout my lifetime. My skin condition is better now than ever, likely because there are better ways to treat the disease, but it is still there. And its existence can be very embarrassing. As a child, the inside of my elbows and knees were nothing but scabs, as was the area behind my ears and some other regions of my body. It was itchy and flaky and not something anyone wanted to look at.

I admit that I have often been thankful, as I have read through the stories of the Bible, that I live now and not two or three thousand years ago. There is nothing infectious about my condition; you can't catch it, but I couldn't have survived during Bible times, and I would have likely become an outcast because people would believe that I had leprosy.

If Bildad has a talent, it might be for taking the things that Job says and the conditions of his life and using them against him. In this case, he leaps on the agony of Job's skin condition, emphasizing that even his skin testifies to his sin. But here is the reality. The skin condition is a result of Satan's actions, but the stress that Job is enduring in this conversation is likely making the skin condition worse. Bildad's words continue to make an already bad situation a lot worse.

Bildad is taking the truth and misapplying it. If there is a warning here for us, it might be that we often do the same thing. We take a Bible verse, get into our echo chambers, and twist the words, although that is not always necessary, to make the Bible say things it really doesn't say. We can all find passages that seem to support whatever we have dreamed up, but we are really taking the truth and transforming it into a lie. We take something that should be life-giving and turn it into something that is life-taking.

It doesn't have to be that way. And our prayer should be that God will guide our words. He will guard our thoughts so that we do not become the Bildads of our modern society. The reality is that throughout my life, I have known several Bildads. Even now, I run into them every once in a while. And the life that they steal from those around them cannot be replaced. Their versions of the truth should never be celebrated.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 19

My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. – Job 17:1

Today's Scripture Reading (August 28, 2024): Job 17

He was born in the year 966 C.E. He became King over the English when he was twelve. Of the thirteen Anglo-Saxon Kings who reigned between 927 C.E. and 1066 C.E., his reign of thirty-seven years was the longest. His name was Aethelred the Unready, which means Ill-advised and is a play on words; Aethelred means "Well" or "Nobley Advised."

Aethelred the Unready died at the age of fifty. It was a time when Kings actively went into battle, and this was the case for Aethelred; he was killed on April 23, 1016, defending London from the forces of the Dane, Cnut. Aethelred has not been well thought of throughout history, with many disturbing stories attributed to him by fables and tradition, but few of these are likely true. (It is interesting to note that many of these stories have also been attributed to other historical figures.) Instead, the modern opinion of Aethelred the Unready is that "Aethelred's misfortune as a ruler was owed not so much to any supposed defects of his character, as to a combination of circumstances which anyone would have found difficult to control" (Simon Keynes, (1978), "The Declining Reputation of King Aethelred the Unready").

Traditionally, when Kings went to war, they were protected. There was often a struggle to balance between the encouragement among the troops in knowing that the King was fighting at their side and the discouragement if anything should happen to the monarch. Whenever a King was killed in battle, as Aethelred was, the army's spirit was usually broken, and the soldiers often lost their focus and found themselves disorganized in their fighting or retreating in disarray.

In the case of Aethelred, Cnut would end up winning the battle and the war, although a negotiated peace divided the area between Cnut and Edmund Ironside, Aethelred's son. However, Edmund Ironside was assassinated after reigning for only a few months, and Cnut took over the whole territory.

Job finds himself feeling in a similar way. All of the fight has gone out of him. He has nothing left to live for. He just wants to give up and give in. He doesn't have the strength or the will to continue in the battle, and no one has come to his side to fight with him. For Job, it is all too much. He needs a leader, a leader, to encourage him as he continues the fight. But it seems that Job has also lost his King, as he loses sight of his God, who has been with him every step of the way. Darkness has overtaken him, yet God is still there, even when Job can't sense his presence.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 18

Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. – Job 16:6

Today's Scripture Reading (August 27, 2024): Job 16

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, "There is no grief like the grief that does not speak." Sometimes, grief speaks, and expressing our grief to a confidante makes us feel a little better. We see the light at the end of the tunnel in the conversation and begin to find ways to stretch toward it. But not all grief, like people, is the same. And some grief is silent; it can't be relieved through conversation.

However, being silent doesn't relieve it either. It festers, and there is no way to lessen it. All that can be done is wait. Time will slowly heal it, but this kind of grief leaves scars on us that we will bear for the rest of our lives.

It is this kind of grief that has Job in its grasp. Job has been silent, and the grief has crushed him. He has spoken of his grief, and yet the pain has not lessened. We know the end of the story. The day will come when Job's grief will diminish, although I don't think it will ever disappear. The end of the story tells us that everything taken away from him will be restored, but some things, like his children, cannot be replaced. That scar, especially of his lost children, will remain for the rest of his life.

But at this moment, all Job can do is suffer. The protestations of his friends aren't helping. Their comments are salt in the wound, making his pain worse. All Job can do is wait and hope for God to intervene, which he will do in his time.

I understand this kind of grief. I have suffered it, maybe more often than I really want to admit. I bear the scars. Even though time hasn't totally healed the wounds, I trust God to help me move into the future, like Job did. Sometimes, I, like Job, am unsure how to make it even just one more day without God. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 17

All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him. – Job 15:20

Today's Scripture Reading (August 26, 2024): Job 15

Actor Matthew Perry died on October 28, 2023; he was found deceased in his hot tub. At first, his death was ruled as an accident, although by the end of summer 2024, that ruling was changed to murder. Perry had died as a result of the acute effects of the drug ketamine, and those who profited off of selling and administering the drug to Matthew Perry were charged with the crimes that instigated the actor's death and with the cover-up that took place after Perry had died. Matthew Perry was fifty-four when his life ended.

On August 15, 2024, I was sitting in my office watching the press conference announcing the charges against the five defendants accused in Perry's death. But as the officials announced and described the events surrounding Perry's death, as well as how and why the defendants were being charged, my attention was caught by the pictures of Matthew Perry that were being shown on the other half of the screen. In every shot, a smiling Perry was shown. Yet, it is not much of a leap from the smiling face on the screen to the pain that drove Matthew Perry to the drugs to which he became addicted and eventually led to his tragic demise. And, somehow, none of it seemed fair.

Did you ever wish the world worked differently? It is the cry of our culture. Why do good people struggle, while sometimes those who do evil seem to enjoy unlimited bounty during their lives? Yet, that is the reality of our lives. It is also a reality that the Bible, and especially Job's story, freely acknowledges. The world doesn't seem fair, and good people often suffer things they don't deserve.

It is the reality of Job's life. God has already declared his judgment on Job's character. "Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil'" (Job 1:8). Job has found favor with God, despite the trials he is now experiencing.

But Eliphaz is trying to sell a theology that is opposed to God's declaration. According to Eliphaz, it is the wicked who suffer and the good who receive the blessings of God. Job has suffered a massive loss, so he must have committed massive sins.

The message of Job challenges Eliphaz's belief. Both good and evil people experience both blessings and struggles. It was a concept Jesus taught in his "Sermon on the Mount;"

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:44-45).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 16

Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. – Job 14:1

Today's Scripture Reading (August 25, 2024): Job 14

In the Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "Balance of Terror," the Enterprise is called to the edge of the neutral zone to investigate the destruction of outposts that monitor the border between the Federation and the Romulan Empire. The investigation leads the Enterprise into a fight with an experimental Romulan ship. It is a fight that almost destroys the Enterprise; the fight does destroy the Romulan ship.

"Balance of Terror" is regularly praised as one of the best Star Trek episodes of the franchise. In 2016, "The Washington Post" ranked "Balance of Terror" as the best episode of "The Original Series" and the third best episode of the Star Trek Franchise, finishing after two "The Next Generation" episodes, "Best of Both Worlds" (#1) and "Darmok" (#2).

"Balance of Terror" begins with a wedding on the Enterprise. The emergency with the Romulans interrupts the wedding, and when the dust settles at the end of the episode, one of the betrotheds has died. It is an excellent reminder of the fragility of life.

Job begins to speak of what he didn't understand before he experienced his present tragedy. Now, with everything he had lost, he understood the fragility of life. Job had lost everything; the loss of his life didn't seem to be much more. His days were few, and especially now, it was full of trouble.

"Balance of Terror" highlighted our fragility and was one of the highest-rated episodes of the Star Trek franchise. It also gave us one of the best quotes from the franchise. Near the end of the story, Dr. McCoy comes to counsel the Captain of the Enterprise. Amid everything that was going on, even the ever-confident Captain Kirk was questioning his ability in this moment. McCoy's advice?

In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in all the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all of that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us. Don't destroy the one named Kirk (Dr. Leonard McCoy, Balance of Terror, Star Trek: The Original Series).

The story of Job emphasizes the fragility of life, but it also stresses its value. Even though his friends have found him guilty, Job is still of great value to God. His circumstances do not reflect the value that God saw in him, just as your circumstances do not reflect the value that God sees in you.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 15

Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die. – Job 13:19

Today's Scripture Reading (August 24, 2024): Job 13

In the society in which I live, there is a belief that we are innocent until we have been proven guilty. I say belief because that is pretty obviously not true. Right now, I have a few friends going through a legal dispute. Admittedly, this description doesn't really measure up. The accused crime was breaking and entering. Both sides blame each other, and friends take one side of the dispute or the other. I am stuck in the middle, and it has been a painful place to be as people on both sides have blamed me for not taking a side. I have refused to take one version of the facts over the other. Friends have already decided that one side is guilty even though there has yet to be a trial. And anyone who maintains that we don't know the whole story is immediately maligned as unloving and out to lunch.

It can be a frustrating place to be, and we have all probably been there. I remember the O. J. Simpson murder trial, and I am not sure that I know anyone who lived through that trial and did not have an opinion about the guilt or innocence of O. J. Usually, anyone who believed something different was classified as an idiot.

Job is having a conversation with his friends. And while the conversation is convoluted and sometimes confusing, one thing is clear. As the friends gather around Job, there is no assumption of innocence. Job's friends believe that Job is guilty. But there is a problem: no one knows what he is guilty of.

So, Job brings a request. He would like to be charged with a crime if he is guilty. He maintains that if he is charged, then he will stop proclaiming his innocence and simply die. It is likely an exaggeration, but it is harmless since Job is pretty sure that his friends have no idea what the charge should be. All they know is that God has delivered his verdict.

Job maintains that he will maintain his innocence until charges can be laid, even though he doesn't understand the charges or what he has done to justify the verdict brought against him. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 14

But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? – Job 12:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 23, 2024): Job 12

With all of the negative research and advertising around smoking cigarettes, it is hard to believe that there was actually a day when the health benefits of enjoying a cigarette were stressed. Or that it used to be that cigarettes were advertised on family-friendly shows like "The Beverly Hillbillies." I smile every time I stream a show today and read the list of warnings, including "cigarette use." Today, we are angry if a family show includes advertisements for sugary treats and cereals, and we wouldn't think about using these shows to promote cigarettes.

 It is hard to believe that Coca-Cola once included cocaine in the recipe, although it was a less refined form of the drug than is commonly used today. Cocaine was thought of as a medicine, and Coca-Cola was a household, over-the-counter drug that could cure the ordinary pains and ailments of life.

Today, we know differently. The things that we once believed are wrong. As we look back in history, it is interesting to read about the common wisdom of the day and realize how incorrect it was.

Job begins his defense in two ways. First, he stresses that his friends are not the only ones with a mind. Job is not inferior to his friends. And second, the things that Job's friends know are common wisdom. There is nothing new here.

These solutions are not new, and there is no proof that they are true. We could summarize Job's response as "All your boasted wisdom consists only in strings of proverbs which are in every person's mouth, and are no proof of wisdom and experience in them that use them" (Adam Clarke). Job's friends were citing nothing more than easy answers to complex questions. A year ago, Job might have recited the same answers, but now he is in the midst of the most profound suffering he could imagine, and the common wisdom spouted by his friends no longer fills the void that the suffering had left within him.

One of the lessons we need to learn from Job is that our common wisdom often doesn't work either. And sometimes, our friends don't need the common wisdom that we know but just our support as they struggle to find the difficult answers that we all have to look for once in a while.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 13

Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? – Job 11:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 22, 2024): Job 11

English writer A. A. Milne (1882-1956), best known for his books about a certain teddy bear named Winnie-the-Pooh, argued that "Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day" (A. A. Milne). I think that, for m English writer A. A. Milne (1882-1956), best known for his books about a certain teddy bear named Winnie-the-Pooh, argued that "Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday; the problem is that someday just isn’t soon enough. I live in a world that wants it now. I don’t want to have to wait five minutes in line at McDonald’s; I’m hungry and want it now. I live in a fast-food world, and I want everything now.

The idea of how deeply I have been shaped by our fast-food world was brought home to me after a wedding a couple of decades ago. I thought that I understood fine dining, but this night I was about to be proven wrong. Only a small group of us were invited to this post-wedding event. We occupied a corner of a restaurant I didn’t even know existed. I have no idea how much the meal cost, and I am pretty sure that I don’t want to know. But this meal was going to be A. A. Milne’s River.

We began with a menu, but the choices were severely limited. The meal was going to be served in multiple courses, and so choices needed to be made for each stage of the meal. We got to the restaurant just before six in the evening, and the meal would be served over the next six hours. I had never experienced a meal like this. This was definitely not McDonald’s. I also have never had a meal like that after either. I am not sure that I am made for that world.

The patience of Job’s friends seems to be wearing thin. And so, Zophar that Naamathite speaks. Zophar seems to occupy the position of attack dog. And with his opening words, he attacks Job. He doesn’t call Job by name, but rather derides him as a talker. According to Zophar, Job would make a good politician; he talked a good line, but was unwilling to walk the talk. Zophar seems to be afraid that the others were going to be convinced by Job’s eloquence. He wants them to step back and evaluate the proof of Job’s life. Job has suffered disaster because his life didn’t measure up to God’s standard. And now, rather than repenting of his obvious sin, Job is making things worse by trying to defend himself. His friends have been patient with him, but Job is pushing that patience beyond its breaking point. Christian Author Mike Mason makes this observation.

Clearly the discussion is heating up. It may be in Zophar’s nature to be caustic and abrupt, or it may just be that things have reached such an impasse that all the friends are now prepared to level direct accusations at Job (Mike Mason, The Gospel According to Job).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 12

I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. – Job 10:1

Today's Scripture Reading (August 21, 2024): Job 10

American Democratic politician Cori Bush lost her bid for re-election in August 2024, beaten out for the nomination for her seat by another Democrat. I don't understand contested nomination bids for a sitting politician most of the time. It seems to me that these contested fights for the party nomination only promote division at a time when the party needs unity.

However, in August 2024, Cori Bush was forced into a contested fight for the nomination for her seat, and Bush lost. As a result of the loss, Bush experienced a meltdown. One thing she mentioned to those who would listen was that this was not the end of the fight. As a representative of the Democratic Party, there were things that she couldn't do or say. But now those restrictions had been removed. Now, Bush maintained that she could say whatever she wanted, and no one had the authority to say, "Please don't say that." Of course, that is not entirely true. If Cori Bush ever hopes to regain her position in the American government, there would be things she shouldn't say, even if she felt she could. But it is a moment with which many of us can identify. When we lose a position or have been disqualified for something, we often feel that moment of release and the knowledge that it no longer matters what we say or do.

It is a moment that Job is feeling in his own life. He has lost everything. His friends insist that the reason he has lost everything is because he sinned against God. And at this moment, when the events seem so far out of his control, Job is experiencing a temptation to let his speech go. Nothing is left to lose, so there is no reason not to stand up and let everyone in on the unvarnished truth as Job sees it. Job has become desperate. His wife had told him to curse God and die; however, Job would not cross that line. But he will come close to it.

Job tells his friends that he hasn't even begun to complain about the unfairness of this world, one that allows Job to lose everything and yet preserves the lives of his friends. He will speak directly to God, not to his friends, for God is the only one who holds the answers to his questions.

And so, Job's real complaint begins.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 11

When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him. – Job 9:11

Today's Scripture Reading (August 20, 2024): Job 9

The Rabbi had been teaching the crowd. His opponents, as usual, were looking for places where they could accuse him. On this day, they thought they had found a place where he was vulnerable. As a result, they made two accusations against him. I find the order of the accusations interesting. "The Jews answered him, 'Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?'" (John 8:48). Jesus could have answered the first part easily. Not only was he not a Samaritan, but both of his parents were from the tribe of Judah, and not only that, but his father was a descendant of the ancient kingly lineage of Israel; Joseph was a descendant of King David.

However, Jesus totally ignored the first question. Maybe because there really was no good answer. If he defended himself against the charge of being a Samaritan, it would be as if he was agreeing with his detractors that there was something inappropriate about being a Samaritan. In my mind, I can hear Jesus paraphrasing Jerry Seinfeld. "No, I am not a Samaritan, not that there is anything wrong with that."

Instead, he addresses the second question.

"I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death" (John 8:49-51).

It wasn't an answer that his opponents wanted to hear. But on this day, what would get Jesus into trouble would occur a little later. Later, Jesus would make this statement. "Very truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58)! The message of the Rabbi was clear to his questioners. Jesus was stating that he was God, He was from before Abraham, and he was, in fact, not just "I Am," but "The Great I Am." It was the name God had given for himself to Moses: I Am that I Am. "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds (John 8:59).

The story highlights something we often miss, but Job understood: We see God only because he wants us to see him. In so much that happens in our lives, God is active and at work, yet we don't see him. And on this day in Jesus's life, as the people picked up stones to attack Jesus, Jesus disappeared. He hid, and in his hiding, Jesus stepped past his opponents, but they did not see him. Jesus walked by his detractors, but they could not perceive him. All because Jesus really was "The Great I Am."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 10

Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? – Job 8:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 19, 2024): Job 8

Do you ever question what is right and what is wrong? I mean, how do you know what is right? And are there gray areas? I have a few very black-and-white friends; they seem to have a more concrete idea of right and wrong than I do. For me, there are gradients. Some things are more wrong than others.

Maybe a case in point is the much-maligned opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. At one point, a group of drag queens formed a tableau reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, "The Last Supper." Now, the artistic director of the "tableau" maintains that it was not the Last Supper they were aiming for but a meeting with the Greek God Dionysus. The problem with the response is that the "tableau" was similar to da Vinci's famous painting, whether that was intentional or not.

So, the Christian community, especially on the far right, was up in arms, offended by the Drag Queen Last Supper. Was I offended by the "tableau?" If it was a representation of Dionysus, I wish it was done differently. But if I was offended by something, it was more by the hate that seemed to bubble over from the Christian Community toward the participants in the summer "tableau." We are supposed to be defined by our love, not by what we might find offensive. The Christian response to the "tableau" has not supported the name of our God; it has thrown dirt on that name.

Job asks a question: Does God pervert what is right? But there is a problem with the question. God defines what is right. There is a question about whether a political leader can break the law when he is the one who establishes the law. Richard Nixon maintained that the President of the United States could not break the law because, by definition, anything the President does is legal. That might have been true if the President was a King a few centuries ago. But today, that question is in debate. But with God, it is true.

God does not just do what is right or act justly. He is the embodiment of everything good. He is what is right and just. Because of that, God cannot pervert either justice or what is right. We might be able to take what is wrong and pretend that it is correct, but God can't. By definition, God can only do what is right and just. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 9

Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? – Job 7:1

Today's Scripture Reading (August 18, 2024): Job 7

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And when it came time to make the first humans, he placed them in a beautiful garden. This Garden was well-watered and filled with fruit trees. The Garden was able to fulfill the daily needs of God's creation. And there, our first ancestors grew and lived. God had given them the responsibility to care for the Garden; in return, the Garden would take care of them.

God placed the first couple in the Garden, but he didn't childproof the Garden. God had created this couple in his image, and one of the things that meant was that they could understand the concepts of right and wrong. God understood that he couldn't let them know the difference between right and wrong and not place something prohibited in the Garden. So, God placed a tree in the center of the Garden, the fruit of which his creation was forbidden to eat.

Now, the Garden was vast, and it had a river that meandered through it. I said once that if I were in the Garden, I would have followed the river away from that tree in the middle of the Garden so I wouldn't be tempted to eat the fruit. But that isn't what Adam and Eve did. Instead, they stayed close to the forbidden tree, and eventually, they gave into temptation and ate fruit from the tree that had been forbidden to them.

As a result of Adam and Eve's actions, the human situation changed. One significant change was that the human race had to leave the Garden. No longer would we be able to live the life to which we had grown accustomed. The author of Genesis includes this description of life after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,'

"Cursed is the ground because of you;
    through painful toil you will e at food from it
    all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
    you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return" (Genesis 3:17-19).

Job seems to echo the truth of the world after the fall. The human race was destined to live by the sweat on our brow. Once we were treasured guests of the Creator, existing on the bounty God had given us. But now, we were the hired hands working the field. And we only have ourselves to blame for the change.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 8

If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! – Job 6:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 17, 2024): Job 6

She meant it as a joke. A friend was moving, and a group of people volunteered to help move the furniture out of the apartment and into the rented truck. Then, at the other end of the journey, from the truck into the new place that would become the friend's home for the next few years. Two muscular guys had picked up a couch and started carrying it to the truck. And this is where her joke came in. She watched as these two musclebound, handsome guys picked up the couch; she laughed and said, "Hey, let me help." And then she jumped up onto the couch.

I don't know if you have ever tried to pick up a couch, but in the process, there is often that moment when you are juggling a little bit, trying to make sure you have a grip on the piece of furniture. That was the particular moment that this friend had decided to jump on the couch. As a result, one of the guys didn't have a grip, and the sofa slid out of his hands and right on his foot. It could have been worse; nothing was broken. But the pain was genuine. And for a little while, one of the movers was out of commission. She meant it as a joke, but it had an authentic effect on the day.

Job responds to the accusation of Eliphaz. He begins by saying that he wishes his anguish could be weighed. He wishes there was an objective scale where he could show his friends the depth of his pain. The reality was that Eliphaz had played the same part the girl playing a joke on her friends had played on moving day. Job had been trying to lift his heavy burdens by himself. Maybe Eliphaz had meant to help, to take some of the burdens on himself. But all that he had succeeded in doing was making something that was already heavy just a little heavier. Eliphaz had jumped on top of Job's suffering, making the load heavier than it needed to be.

Job wishes that he could quantify what he was feeling. But he also knew that that was impossible. It is a secret of life. No one can truly feel our pain; even people who empathize with us are really just feeling their own pain. The weight of our suffering is ours to bear, and no one can carry it for us or understand how heavy the circumstances under which we are struggling are.

It is the secret that Eliphaz missed. In his foolishness, he had made Job's situation worse. His silence had been welcome, but now his speech had reversed that. Job needed friends to sit with him, not jump on top of the weight and make it heavier. It is a lesson that I need to learn, and maybe you do too.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 7

 

I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed. – Job 5:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 16, 2024): Job 5

Okay, I admit it, I know a few fools. Sometimes, I watch them, shake my head, and wonder how they could have ever gotten to this point in their lives. However, I usually try to keep my judgment to myself. Where I struggle is when I see a fool trying to push their foolishness on someone else. Then, my frustrations make me a little more vocal. But foolishness is always an action, something that someone does or believes.

For instance, trickle-down economics is actually a foolish idea. It argues that giving people a trickle of money is better than giving them a blast of financial support. Just as intermediaries tend to drive prices up because everyone tries to make some money off of a product, giving cash or tax breaks to the wealthy means less and less gets to the lower-income workers as everyone above them battles for their cut. Trickle-down economics only works if the money multiplies as it makes its way to the poorer classes, kind of like Jesus feeding the five thousand. But just like the scene at the feeding of the five thousand, trickle-down economics requires a miracle to work for those at the end of the trickle.

Foolish actions are often the evidence that fools have taken root. And I have had this argument with people in my life. Social media is an excellent place for fools to display their foolishness or even for the promotion of things that we just haven't thought through in our lives. Sometimes, even the wise can present a foolish idea on social media. However, a fool takes root only when they repeatedly go down foolish paths.

The problem with what Eliphaz presents is that he is not looking at foolish actions or foolish beliefs. Eliphaz's accusation that Job has been foolish is entirely based on the fact that Job is going through hard times. Eliphaz assumes that Job's life has collapsed because he has been foolish, which is untrue. I am aware of wise people who have experienced many tragedies. And I know fools who live the life of the rich and famous. The wise and foolish don't have a corner on any particular lifestyle.

Eliphaz calls Job a fool, but his comment reveals more about Eliphaz than it does about Job. Eliphaz is more of a fool because he believes that the trouble Job is experiencing is proof of his foolishness, even when there is no other evidence to back up the claim.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 6