The Impatience of Job

Today's readings: Ps 26, 28; Job 13:1-17, 21-27; Acts 12:1-17; John 8:33-47

Have you ever heard someone described as having “the patience of Job?” Where do we suppose that came from? Job is not at all patient. He rails against his miserable condition and demands answers from God. He rebukes his friends’ attempts to explain his situation by declaring “What you know, I also know. I am not inferior to you” (v 2). He, God and we readers all know he hasn’t done anything to merit such punishment. Patience may be a virtue, but lazy thinking and theology is not.

Lots of people – televangelists, authors, ministers – make their livings by telling other people what God is all about. Even more people – people like Job’s friends – offer the same service for free. Members of both groups often have the same problem as Job’s friend Zophar: they parrot answers that don’t fit our experience of the world. Jesus taught us about God mostly through parables and questions. We should be wary of any spiritual leaders who offer pat answers, especially when they lean more toward legalism than grace.

We should trust our instincts about God. This doesn’t mean we should create an image of God from scratch, or that we shouldn’t question, modify, and grow in our beliefs as warranted. It doesn’t mean God must want us to do and be exactly what we already are. It does mean when someone, even someone in authority, claims to know something about God, we should test that claim against our own truths. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tell us “Test everything. Hold on to the good.”

By the same token, neglected instincts can grow dull. We have an ongoing responsibility to educate ourselves and critically evaluate what we learn and experience in matters of God and faith. We can’t say “I am not inferior” in these matters if we haven’t done the work, but any one of us is as capable of a deep relationship with God as anyone else. Keeping our own instincts sharp will help us determine whether someone is speaking the truth, or speaking eloquently and confidently – but falsely.

Comfort: God is more trustworthy than our words and ideas about God.

Challenge: Meet regularly with a group of friends to discuss what you have learned (and unlearned!) about god.

Prayer: God of life, thank you for the mind you have given me.

Evening readings: Ps 36, 39

Tomorrow's readings: Ps 38; Job 14:1-22; Acts 12:18-25; John 8:47-59