Judgment's Relationship Quotient; Job 31

May the mumbling commence!

How will God judge us?  We will be judged by our relationships – that’s what Job says in chapter 31.  Read some passages from it below:

            If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

                        or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

            then may my wife grind another’s man’s grain,

                        and may other men sleep with her. (Verses 9-10)

How I relate to other women has a direct effect on how I relate to my wife.  If I choose to wander because of the enticements of another woman, my wife will be hurt.  And whoever that woman is in relationship with will be hurt.  It may cause the whole neighborhood to be at unrest.  It may start a concert of sin to “get even.” 

Hurtful relationships have a ripple effect far beyond what we could guess when we do things “in the heat of the moment.”  To live life in the full does NOT mean living life in the heat of the moment.  To live life in the full means to fully understand how my way of living will affect others.  Read further:

            If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants

                        when they had a grievance against me,

            what will I do when God confronts me?

                        What will I answer when called to account?

            Did not he who made me in the womb make them?

                        Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? (Verses 13-15)

There may be others who we feel are beneath us, who are in a much lower station.  Surely, we need not worry about our relationships with those people who serve us – the lady or gentleman behind the counter at the restaurant or at the grocery store or at Wal-Mart.  “Not so fast,” says Job.  God would say the same.  God has made both me and the people who serve me.  The Great Creator made both me and those who serve me in His image. 

All of us will be called to account by how we relate to all the people in our lives – even when we find ourselves in the service of another.  Ever been in a situation where the customer, who is “always right,” is painfully wrong?  Yes, we best serve and are most in the graces of God when we find space in our hearts to treat even the most abrasive people with respect.  And abrasive people bring me to the next passage that I want us to read from chapter 31:

            If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune

                        or gloated over the trouble that came to him –

            I have not allowed my mouth to sin

                        by invoking a curse against his life. (Verses 29-30)

Now we come down to it.  What about those we see as our enemies – often for good reasons?  Would God really judge us on how we relate to our enemies?  Yes.  Remember: Jesus told us we must love our enemies and pray for them.  In this passage, Job speaks to the same thing – enemy love.  It means that we take no pleasure in the downfall or comeuppance of our enemies.  It means that we do not invoke a curse against our enemy’s life.  It means that we do not actively plan to bring our enemies down.

Though we can learn much about how a person relates to those nearest and dearest to them, we can learn much more from how a person relates to those she serves and to those who serve her.  And we can learn even more how she relates to those who anger her and disturb her – those she might see as her enemies.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out