the tindog coffeehouse

Most people are familiar with the Old Testament story of Job, the innocent man allowed to be tormented by Satan as a test of his faith. Satan took away all of his livestock, killed his servants, and then killed his 10 children. When Job remained faithful to God, Satan then cursed him with terrible boils from head to toe. But still Job didn’t sin. Convinced that he was being punished for some past transgression, his three friends plead with him to repent, but although he felt sorry for himself, he could only defend his innocence.

Then a young man named Elihu confronted him, angry at Job for refusing to admit his guilt and sure that he knew exactly why God was doing the things He was doing. Elihu said confidently:

“You have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard your very words.
You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin;
I am innocent; I have no guilt.
God is picking a quarrel with me,
and he considers me his enemy.
He puts my feet in the stocks
and watches my every move.’

“But you are wrong, and I will show you why.”

Elihu then proceeded to explain how God was a God of justice, that He was metering out his punishment on Job as a way to get him to turn from his sin and be reconciled. And he seemed to have all the answers.

“Mark this well, Job. Listen to me,
for I have more to say.
But if you have anything to say, go ahead.
Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified.
But if not, then listen to me.
Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom! …

“Let me go on, and I will show you the truth.
For I have not finished defending God!
I will present profound arguments
for the righteousness of my Creator.
I am telling you nothing but the truth,
for I am a man of great knowledge.”

But he wasn’t.

Despite being perfectly correct about God being just, he was basing his beliefs on the false assumption that God is only just. In his mind, God fit into a perfect little formula that could be applied as needed to any situation. If something bad happens, then it’s because God is punishing you. And once you repent, once you fix whatever is wrong in your life, once you become good enough again, then God will end the punishment. That’s the formula. That’s the answer. There can be no other explanation.

But God wasn’t punishing Job, and Job was in fact innocent. He hadn’t done anything to deserve his circumstances. Rather, God was allowing the circumstances to happen as a way to demonstrate Job’s faithfulness, something that neither Elihu nor Job’s friends could understand.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Elihus in the world. You might be friends with one or work with one or go to church with one. Heck, the Internet and TV are full of them. People that, even if they’re Christians with the best of intentions, presume to know everything and are more than happy to make their voices heard. Usually, they barge in uninvited as Elihu did, but way too often we seek them out, believing that they’re as wise as they say they are.

Blogger Jon Acuff pointed out how all the self-help books littering Christian bookstores are often indistinguishable from the claims made on the covers of men’s magazines. “Build your perfect life and strip away stress for good”, “Uncover the proven process that will lead to a life of success and total fulfillment”, “10 keys to fulfilling your destiny”.

We’ve become the Church of Oprah.

But God isn’t a God of formulas. He doesn’t fit into some contrived if-then statement. Yes, he’s a God of justice. But He’s also a God of love and holiness and faithfulness. We rarely if ever understand why He does what He does or why bad things happen to good people. But that’s OK.

He doesn’t expect us to know.

He only expects us to trust Him.

Previously:
One thing
Look for the search lights
Who’s in your mine?
Who are you following?