Read Job 8.
Some comforter
Bildad turned out to be!
1. He called
Job a wind bag. (v.1)
2. He said
Job's children had it coming to them due to sin. (v.4)
3. He urged Job
to repent, and God would restore his fortunes. (vv.5-6)
4. He concluded
that where there is smoke, there is fire. (vv.11-12)
5. He accused Job of forgetting God. (v.13)
Bildad's theology was not wrong in itself, but his applications were incorrect. He judged Job upon a false premise that did not allow for the fact that Job had done nothing wrong. Bildad's thinking was that Job's suffering was the result of sin in his life. And, if Job was truly living a godly life, then he would experience health, wealth, position and power. This is simply not true and is totally false to anyone who knows their Bible.
On earth, Jesus possessed no wealth. Paul experienced a physical problem that never went away. The Psalmist observed that the wicked around him prospered. Are all world leaders godly people? It is easy to destroy Bildad's argument, yet so many continue to be drawn into that thinking.
Evaluating life only in temporal terms is to miss the very essence of truly knowing the God of heaven. Like The Great Gatsby, it leads to living in a false and fantasized hope. The results include a self-centered and rebellious life. "It is all about me and what I can get from God."
What are the
evidences of a godly life?
"But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." (Galatians 5:22-23) These are the qualities that will be evident
regardless of one’s life circumstances.
It is the work of God in a life and cannot be self-imposed by wishful
thinking.
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