Passing It On, Misdirected Zeal…..

In the book of Job we read of a man’s tragedy; losing his wealth, health, and family. His friends remain quiet for a week, then attack Job, telling him he must’ve sinned as the cause of his suffering. Most of the statements his friends say are true about God, but they don’t apply to Job’s case. They keep telling Job to repent of sins that he didn’t commit. So Job not only suffers from the loss of the above mentioned things, he’s being ridiculed and accused of doing things he hasn’t done as well. Here, Job tells us about how he would react to his friends if the roles were reversed (he speaks from truly knowing God). It’s a lesson we all need to read, study, and put into practice. Good things happen to both good and bad people. Our suffering is not always associated with our own behavior. We must always try to look at things from God’s perspective. This prevents us from thinking for God, and thus getting it wrong. Having compassion only works when it comes from a heart that has been transformed by God, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I see the commercials on TV about doing good and “passing it on”, but there’s no mention of truth or God in the 15 second clips. Where is this compassion supposed to come from? How do you get it? How are you supposed to treat all people with kindness if you don’t “feel” like it? The answer is simple, you can’t give what you don’t possess. Without the transforming power of salvation, that only Jesus can bring, the compassion you might display to someone will be misdirected and ineffective. If it were genuine, what answer would you give the recipient when they ask you, “why are you doing this?” Unless you have a continual, daily, pursuit of the Almighty, your actions won’t have an eternal impact on those around you. Or at least it will be misdirected zeal and deflate the recipient more than help him.

1 Then Job spoke again: 2 “I have heard all this before.What miserable comforters you are!3 Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?What makes you keep on talking?4 I could say the same things if you were in my place.I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.5 But if it were me, I would encourage you.I would try to take away your grief. Job 16:1-5