Today’s Reading: Job 29, 30, & 31

The words of Job have ended. The words of Job have also given us much to think about. You see, I think that in chapter 31, in the process of making his defense, Job gives us a good list of godly actions – words for us to live by. In fact, if you take Job’s list of sins that he hasn’t committed and turn them instead into a list of God’s instructions for life – it becomes pretty compelling:

Stay pure from lust
Don’t walk in falsehood
Don’t stray from the path
Don’t deny justice to others
Don’t deny the desires of the poor
Don’t let the eyes of the widow grow weary
Share your food with the fatherless
Give clothing to the needy
Don’t accuse the fatherless in court
Don’t put your trust in gold
Don’t praise the sun or moon
Don’t rejoice at your enemy’s misfortune or curse them
Open your door to travelers
Don’t hide or conceal your sin

This is the kind of person God wants you and me to be – the kind of person that Job was. And yet, even if we do these things perfectly, there is still no guarantee that our life will not be hard. There is no guarantee that another, more wicked, person won’t have an easier life. Job learned that lesson through intense personal suffering. Here’s hoping that you and I can simply learn it from Job!