Job chapter 20 brings Zophar to the plate for another “piece of my mind”. The intensity is increasing between Job and his buddies, or used to be friends anyway. I always cringe when people want to give a piece of their mind. For most of us, we don’t have enough mind we can afford to give it away (how’s that for a try at humor). But really – words like that mean it is all about me and I am going to let you have it – both barrels loaded – full on dump of what I think so shut up and listen. Not exactly the most effective way to communicate. Now all of us have experienced what we think is feeling better because we have dumped on someone like this. We let our emotions out, we blasted them with our perspective, and it seems to be a release for us. Just this week I had an employee in my office asking about dealing with another person. Part of his plan was to give them a piece of his mind – to be totally honest – dump everything that has been bothering them and building up for years at once – and hope to feel better about it when done. My counsel was that was a very bad plan. Transferring garbage from me to you doesn’t really fix anything. What has to happen is to put the garbage in the landfill. Sometimes we can do that by ourselves, sometimes we need to do it with the other person(s), but seldom is dumping my garbage on your plate and asking you to deal with it effective. So before you get revved up and want to give someone a piece of your mind in the future, consider the fact that the relationship is the one thing worth fighting for and keeping. All the garbage around it can and should go to the dump. But that never includes the relationship. That is the one thing God really cares about.
Zophar does expound on “God’s blueprint for the wicked”. He really explains it quite simply. Bad guys “exploit the poor, took what never belonged to them”. That really is the essence of evil – taking what is not ours – money, power, fame – rather than putting the focus on who really owns and deserves it all – God Himself. A lot of sin can come down to our attempt to grab what is not rightfully ours and trying to make it so. Consider what happens to Jesus when Satan tempts Him in Matthew 4:1-10. Satan tempted Him with things (bread to quench his hunger), power (throw yourself down) and fame (keys to the kingdom). We are tempted continually in these areas, and problems develop when we give in and chase those things. But the outcome is also given here by Zophar: “Just when they think they have it all, disaster strikes”. I often hear people ask why bad people seem to get by with it or get the bounty. The key word is “seem”. They never really win in the end. God never loses and His rules never change. What seems to happen, “what seems right to a man”, is never the real end of the story. Evil doesn’t pay. Bad people don’t win. God is in control!
Posted by asorensen 
