Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Oct 23, 2006 2:07:52 GMT -5
The Essence of Compassion By Shari Weigerstorfer
Job 2:11 "Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place... to sympathize with him and comfort him."
But Job's friends were not "comforters." Instead of comforting Job, they spent their time trying to point out to Job that he had obviously done something wrong. Getting him to admit it proved to be a problem.
He had to be guilty of something. Why else would God have done to him what He did? Or allowed it to happen? It only made sense. God couldn't be wrong so it had to be Job.
If they could just get him to admit it, then he could repent and God would heal him. It was that simple, and that was their plan. And they worked their plan. They brought out every bit of good advice and counsel they had ever heard and threw it at Job, one after the other.
Their advice was full of wisdom but it was advice that wasn't applicable to the situation. They had no knowledge of what was really going on or happening. But that didn't hinder them from advising or urging him to admit his guilt.
They felt confident they had the high moral ground. After all, they weren't the ones who'd had disaster fall on them.
Job 12:5 "He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, as prepared for those whose feet slip."
They felt they were in right standing with God. And they might have been, right up until they presumed their superior stance and opened their mouths.
Job was already confused, shocked and wounded. He'd lost everything - precisely because he had done nothing wrong - and he had to endure his loss and dismay while simultaneously defending himself to his friends who absolutely did not believe his innocence.
What their haranguing did, was add insult to injury. And it angered God.
Job 38:2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?"
In the end, God was so angry with them that it required Job's intercession to restore their relationships with Him.
Job 42: 7-8 "My wrath is kindled against you (Eliphaz) and your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."
Regardless of their intention, their actions were regarded as "folly" by the Judge of the Universe. An offense that came with a serious penalty.
Sometimes, people go through things that no one seems to understand while they are going through it. Not them, not their friends, not their counselors. Sometimes God simply allows things to happen. He may be testing them or others around them. We usually can't see as clearly WHAT GOD IS DOING as well as WHAT GOD HAS DONE. Some things are only understood in hindsight.
We need to be careful whom we presume to advise - and judge. God is near to the brokenhearted, how much more so when it is He, Himself, who may have allowed the adverse circumstances for His own purposes?
Job 2:3: And the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me to ruin him without cause."
So what should we do when we find someone wounded and confused as Job's friends found him? How are we to react when we don't understand the situation and neither much do they? I believe the answer is found in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus places the emphasis, not on the wounded and why they are wounded but what our action and attitude should be towards the wounded; We are to care for them. Comfort them. Even if, or maybe especially if, they are in the wrong.
Luke 10:33 "...But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, HE FELT COMPASSION, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him... Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor...?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
If being a "neighbor" is expressed this way, how much more compassion should we extend towards our brothers and sisters in Christ? But how much easier is it to judge and advise like Job's friends did.
1 Cor. 13:1 "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."
Life is full of choices. Showing God's love is never wrong.
Shari Weigerstorfer began writing in Junior High when her family moved from Oregon to California and she wrote to her friends "back home." From Switzerland, 20 years later she again found herself again writing "back home." She now shares these stories, reflections and perspectives with others.
Article Source: www.faithwriters.com
Job 2:11 "Now when Job's three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place... to sympathize with him and comfort him."
But Job's friends were not "comforters." Instead of comforting Job, they spent their time trying to point out to Job that he had obviously done something wrong. Getting him to admit it proved to be a problem.
He had to be guilty of something. Why else would God have done to him what He did? Or allowed it to happen? It only made sense. God couldn't be wrong so it had to be Job.
If they could just get him to admit it, then he could repent and God would heal him. It was that simple, and that was their plan. And they worked their plan. They brought out every bit of good advice and counsel they had ever heard and threw it at Job, one after the other.
Their advice was full of wisdom but it was advice that wasn't applicable to the situation. They had no knowledge of what was really going on or happening. But that didn't hinder them from advising or urging him to admit his guilt.
They felt confident they had the high moral ground. After all, they weren't the ones who'd had disaster fall on them.
Job 12:5 "He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, as prepared for those whose feet slip."
They felt they were in right standing with God. And they might have been, right up until they presumed their superior stance and opened their mouths.
Job was already confused, shocked and wounded. He'd lost everything - precisely because he had done nothing wrong - and he had to endure his loss and dismay while simultaneously defending himself to his friends who absolutely did not believe his innocence.
What their haranguing did, was add insult to injury. And it angered God.
Job 38:2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?"
In the end, God was so angry with them that it required Job's intercession to restore their relationships with Him.
Job 42: 7-8 "My wrath is kindled against you (Eliphaz) and your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."
Regardless of their intention, their actions were regarded as "folly" by the Judge of the Universe. An offense that came with a serious penalty.
Sometimes, people go through things that no one seems to understand while they are going through it. Not them, not their friends, not their counselors. Sometimes God simply allows things to happen. He may be testing them or others around them. We usually can't see as clearly WHAT GOD IS DOING as well as WHAT GOD HAS DONE. Some things are only understood in hindsight.
We need to be careful whom we presume to advise - and judge. God is near to the brokenhearted, how much more so when it is He, Himself, who may have allowed the adverse circumstances for His own purposes?
Job 2:3: And the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me to ruin him without cause."
So what should we do when we find someone wounded and confused as Job's friends found him? How are we to react when we don't understand the situation and neither much do they? I believe the answer is found in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus places the emphasis, not on the wounded and why they are wounded but what our action and attitude should be towards the wounded; We are to care for them. Comfort them. Even if, or maybe especially if, they are in the wrong.
Luke 10:33 "...But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, HE FELT COMPASSION, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him... Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor...?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
If being a "neighbor" is expressed this way, how much more compassion should we extend towards our brothers and sisters in Christ? But how much easier is it to judge and advise like Job's friends did.
1 Cor. 13:1 "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."
Life is full of choices. Showing God's love is never wrong.
Shari Weigerstorfer began writing in Junior High when her family moved from Oregon to California and she wrote to her friends "back home." From Switzerland, 20 years later she again found herself again writing "back home." She now shares these stories, reflections and perspectives with others.
Article Source: www.faithwriters.com