“…do you think it’s fair…?” Job 35:2a (NIRV)

Addressing Job on the fairness of his statements, Elihu asked Job on the appropriateness of his firm stance of innocence before God, which (in their time) indicted God’s actions as judge. When is it ever fair for any man to say such a thing? How could we come anywhere close to having the understanding, the breadth of knowledge, and the wisdom to assert that type of thinking before God. Elihu then reminded Job about
his pondering of what little profit there was to refrain from sinning (vv. 1 – 3).

Offering his own perspective on Job’s ramblings (God can even breathe truth in one’s ramblings!), Elihu asserted one’s actions, bad or good, only effect people – that they have no effect upon God or His Kingdom (vv. 4 – 8). It seems a rather reckless statement to me… we are unable to know just how one person’s evil reverberates throughout the universe. If Adam’s and Eve’s sin of rebellion brought the fall of creation, and our sinful nature is a result of their sin, what does our sin yield? We have no way of knowing just how broad the effects of our sin reach… it would be like trying to follow every feather emptied from a feather pillow on a windy day. God have mercy on us.

Getting back to Elihu’s query to Job about the fairness of asserting his innocence over God’s right to judge (which was, as we know, an erroneous assumption on Elihu’s part). Job never denied God’s right to judge. In fact, he wanted God to judge him and clear his name. Job wanted to have his world make sense again… because in his heart of hearts, he, too, was stuck in a religious system of reward and punishment. Job was learning about faith in and through the sequence of events which had occurred.

Let me ask you, reader, this question: Do you think it’s fair for your children to vent in front of you? Do they have the understanding of their parents to know when they’ve had a bad day, a moment of crisis, or a complete breakdown of understanding their world? Is it fair for others to vent in front of you? Will you allow others that moment? If so, how will you respond?

If you have children, you will understand what I am about to say: children know just what buttons to push to either get your attention or to inflame an issue in order to get their way. God, as our Father, us understands better than we understand ourselves. He knows all too well what emotional venting is… He created us to be able to do just that – vent. Elihu was playing judge and jury on the appropriateness of the timing and scope of Job’s venting. We’ve all done the same thing… judging others on their words, their emotional outbursts, etc.

Sure, adults have unwritten acceptable codes of public conduct which most think are universally accepted and understood… but they’re not. And for that reason, children of God must make the effort to at least seek to understand another’s moment of emotional flooding. You may disagree with me completely. Yes, there should be socially accepted norms of behavior, but how are people of faith to respond when those norms are breached? Consider and pray on this.

Have a blessed day…