The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
How do you make your decisions?
People make decisions in all sorts of ways.
Do you "just do what feels right?" Do you choose the alternative that is most
pleasurable for you? Or do you choose the alternative that's most profitable for
you? Or do you cop out of making your own decision and just follow along with
what your friends decide to do?
Or do you do what your spouse or your kids want to do, or what your parents
demand that you do, even if you don't feel comfortable with that decision?
Or perhaps you are the logical, studious type of person who researches all
the information you can find about the problem, and decides on the basis of that
information.
Then, again, maybe you want to have the best possible answer so you might
check with some experts who know all about the topic you are trying to make a
decision about.
And I am afraid some of us make our decisions by "winging it" and saying what
we guess or think or feel might be right, even if we don't know. But we
certainly won't admit that we don't really know.
Job was a good man who had a lot of bad things happen to him. It's a long,
long story, and it might be a good idea for you to read it in your Bible
sometime. But what it boils down to is that Satan, whom we also call the Devil,
challenged God to a contest. Satan said that he could make a person turn away
from following God if he was allowed to do whatever he wanted to that person.
God finally agreed, but said that there had to be a rule: Satan could hurt Job
in whatever way he wished, but must not kill Job.
And so Job lost his money, his home, his children, his health and eventually
his wife. He had been a very rich man, but he lost all his flocks, herds, and
farm crops, as well as all his servants and workmen. He wound up sitting on an
ash heap, scratching at the terrible sores that tormented his body. His wife
said to him, Curse God and die! I'm leaving you! and took off.
But he was not alone. He had three friends...well, he thought they were
friends. But, between you and me, it was a case of the old saying: With
friends like these, who needs enemies? They took turns visiting Job and
trying to keep him company and give him "good" advice. Notice those quote marks
around the word "good." They belonged to the group that like to make up their
own decisions, never mind the truth of the matter...guesses are just as good.
The problem with that was two-fold. First, they didn't really believe in God.
Oh, they went to services and brought offerings at the right times. But they
certainly did not know God or how God works. I guess they hadn't paid much
attention in Sunday School or Bible study.
Secondly, they had decided, in their own minds, without any evidence or
proof, that all these terrible things happened to Job because he must have
broken one or more of God's laws. So their visits and speeches of "good" advice
all had pretty much the same theme: Tell God you're sorry, do what you can
to make it up to him, and everything will be all right. Of course Job
had done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve all this, nothing that could be
called sinful. In fact, he was the most generous and right-living person for
miles around, which is why Satan set out to turn him away from God in the first
place.
So poor Job sat on his ash heap, scratching his sores, and patiently
listening to his so-called "friends" tell him what a terrible sinner he must be
to make God treat him like this, and how he needed to repent and bring sin
offerings and do penance and all that.
Eventually Job got mad and started asking God what this was all about. He
told God that God was not playing fair, not being just to him. He'd lived a good
life, given lots of money to help the poor, treated his servants fairly, never
cheated anyone, and always went to services and made proper offerings. So what
was all this about, anyway? Didn't God know how to be a righteous God?
And, you see, THAT was the right way for Job to solve his problem: ask the
person who knows best!
God's answer was long and powerful. We just read part of it in the first
lesson. And God ended up saying something like this: Who are you to tell
me how to be God? Don't you think I know more about it, and everything else,
than you do? After all, I made the world and put you and everyone else here! I'm
the only God around, and you're telling me how to be God?
And then God explained a few things. He explained that all this was a test of
Job's loyalty and faith and trust in God. He turned to the three "friends" and
scolded them up one side and down the other and made sure they understood that
Job had done nothing wrong. And then he gave Job back everything he had
lost...more children than he had had before, a nicer wife, a better house, a
bigger farm, more flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, more money, nicer
clothes, more respect and honor. And the so-called "friends" blushed and kind of
edged away. We don't know if they remained friendly with Job after all this.
You can imagine what would have happened to Job if he had accepted the advice
of his so-called "friends." That would've driven him crazy into the bargain,
trying to do penance and ask for forgiveness, for what? Living a holy and
righteous life and being kind and generous to everyone.
You see, it was only after going to the person who really knew all about it
that Job got his answers, and got the remedies he needed. Not after listening to
his wife. Not after listening to his friends. Only after going to the One who
had the answer.
And you notice that even through all this, Job never stopped believing in and
trusting God. Satan lost his bet and guess where he got exiled to?
You and I would be wise to take a lesson from Job.
We would be wise to find out the facts and not make up our own facts or fill
in with guesses.
We would be wise not to listen to people who don't know what they are talking
about.
We would be wise not to listen to people who have a grudge or a personal
reason to push us one way or another (like Job's wife).
We would be very, very wise to ask God to help us make our decisions, and to
find all the information we can on our own. In the Book of Proverbs it says,
Trust in the Lord with all your might, and not in your own understanding. In
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. God, after
all, is all-wise and all-knowing, and can help us make far better decisions than
we possibly could make on our own. So...when you have a decision to make, first
learn all you can about the problem (from books or real experts, not from your
buddies or common gossip); then pray about it and ask for God's guidance....AND
be open and willing to accept it, even if it isn't what you yourself wanted at
first. You will never be sorry that you did this.
Amen.
