If/Then
Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. Job12:5
She sits in her big comfy chair, in her temperature controlled, nicely furnished and decorated home. She thinks of all the things she owns out right and how her few bills are quite adequately covered by her large income. She is surrounded by travel brochures given wide choices of how to spend her disposable income. She thinks of her wonderful family and her large circle of friends. Then for some reason her mind drifts to the conversation she had with her neighbor, the one who is struggling to keep her home. She remembers the day the mailman switched their mail and how many late notices there were in the pile for her neighbor. It’s been quite awhile since any of the neighbor’s children came to visit and goodness, the way the woman bent her ear the other day, she must not have any friends at all. She can’t help but wonder what the neighbor did to bring such circumstances into her life. But thankfully it’s not contagious. Her life is safe and secure. Her bank account is as healthy as she is. Weren’t some of the neighbor’s bills from doctors? Oh well, neighbor has never been too smart about money and those kids of hers, well, she could have done a better job with them. Perhaps, she should stay away from the neighbor, as it appears most people are doing. Wouldn’t want to get sucked into her problems.
Okay, so maybe that is a bit of hyperbole. But it is what the verse from Job is talking about and it is how we view things. When we see someone, a friend, co-worker, or relative fall on hard times it is so easy to list the fifty odd ways they brought it on themselves. Too many of us are quick to offer reasons why that person might be in that dire situation. Then the tables turn.
When it’s my mailbox full of bills, my body that doesn’t feel so well, or my phone that isn’t ringing, it’s a different story. Maybe I’m being tested or pruned. Maybe life is just unfair. Why is God ignoring me?
Sometimes we hit a rough patch in life and can draw a straight line to the behavior that caused our problem. We overspend and our bank account no longer meets our needs. We ignore our health and our bodies revolt. Clear enough. Other times, things just happen. Lovely, God fearing people struggle with illness, financial reversal and loneliness. Why? I don’t know but I am guilty of passing judgment at times.
The book of Job is a great illustration of an innocent man suffering. His friends, his good friends with good intentions are trying to get to the why so he can fix it and once again enjoy God’s favor. They, like us, see life as an if/then equation. If I act a certain way, making good choices, then life will go well. If life is going well, then somewhere, I must have screwed up. God does not have a black and white if/then plan. I shudder to think what my life would be like if He did!
It is very easy to point fingers when things are good in our own backyard. But when things go poorly we don’t want other people pointing fingers at us. God has a plan, for you, for me, for all of creation. Sometimes we think we get it but we never really know. Our best option is to do what Jesus directed, “Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2
She sits in her big comfy chair, in her temperature controlled, nicely furnished and decorated home. She thinks of all the things she owns out right and how her few bills are quite adequately covered by her large income. She is surrounded by travel brochures given wide choices of how to spend her disposable income. She thinks of her wonderful family and her large circle of friends. Then for some reason her mind drifts to the conversation she had with her neighbor, the one who is struggling to keep her home. She remembers the day the mailman switched their mail and how many late notices there were in the pile for her neighbor. It’s been quite awhile since any of the neighbor’s children came to visit and goodness, the way the woman bent her ear the other day, she must not have any friends at all. She can’t help but wonder what the neighbor did to bring such circumstances into her life. But thankfully it’s not contagious. Her life is safe and secure. Her bank account is as healthy as she is. Weren’t some of the neighbor’s bills from doctors? Oh well, neighbor has never been too smart about money and those kids of hers, well, she could have done a better job with them. Perhaps, she should stay away from the neighbor, as it appears most people are doing. Wouldn’t want to get sucked into her problems.
Okay, so maybe that is a bit of hyperbole. But it is what the verse from Job is talking about and it is how we view things. When we see someone, a friend, co-worker, or relative fall on hard times it is so easy to list the fifty odd ways they brought it on themselves. Too many of us are quick to offer reasons why that person might be in that dire situation. Then the tables turn.
When it’s my mailbox full of bills, my body that doesn’t feel so well, or my phone that isn’t ringing, it’s a different story. Maybe I’m being tested or pruned. Maybe life is just unfair. Why is God ignoring me?
Sometimes we hit a rough patch in life and can draw a straight line to the behavior that caused our problem. We overspend and our bank account no longer meets our needs. We ignore our health and our bodies revolt. Clear enough. Other times, things just happen. Lovely, God fearing people struggle with illness, financial reversal and loneliness. Why? I don’t know but I am guilty of passing judgment at times.
The book of Job is a great illustration of an innocent man suffering. His friends, his good friends with good intentions are trying to get to the why so he can fix it and once again enjoy God’s favor. They, like us, see life as an if/then equation. If I act a certain way, making good choices, then life will go well. If life is going well, then somewhere, I must have screwed up. God does not have a black and white if/then plan. I shudder to think what my life would be like if He did!
It is very easy to point fingers when things are good in our own backyard. But when things go poorly we don’t want other people pointing fingers at us. God has a plan, for you, for me, for all of creation. Sometimes we think we get it but we never really know. Our best option is to do what Jesus directed, “Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2
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