March 12, 2024

Job 34.12 (NIV)

“It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice.”

Even truthful words can damage.*

In the midst of his suffering, Job was surrounded by friends who probably meant well but who clearly lacked the right words to say. We have friends like that. We are friends like that! Our motto could be, “Saying something stupid is better than saying nothing at all.”

 

It was a commonly-held belief in Job’s day that good people prosper and bad people suffer.* What his pal Elihu is implying with his words is that Job is suffering because of something he did and it would be unthinkable to question God’s justice in the matter. There is some biblical support to the idea that “a man reaps what he sows” so, in the words of another writer, what Elihu says “isn’t bad theology, but it isn’t much comfort, either.”*

  

Elihu, like us at times, was guilty of applying a “general principle to a particular person.”* God does not authorize us to figure out and point out the specific cause of a person’s problems. After all, only God and Satan knew what was up with Job.

We are guilty of using the Bible and biblical truths to try to prove our point. Yes, the truth can hurt, but the truth shouldn’t be used as a weapon of attack, nor should it be wielded alone. The truth should always be accompanied by love and discernment.

Don’t use the truth as a sledgehammer to tear others down; use it as a hammer and nails to hold things together.*