Monday, January 3, 2022
When
Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as
much as before! Then all his brothers, sisters, and
former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him
because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each
of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring. Job 42:10-11
I recently read a version of a story that I’ve read (and experienced) many
times. The storyline goes like this: Two dogs enter a room. Later, one emerges growling like a wounded
wolf, the other smiling like a contented puppy.
The question that sets-up the punch line is: What, in the same room, could make one
dog happy and another hopping mad?
Of course the punch line is…MIRRORS! A dog may not have the sentient awareness to
know he is looking at his own image, but he has the built-in radar to understand
the danger or welcome signs he’s seeing.
It’s a short leap from a dog story to my story. In a room full of mirrors that reflect my
emotional state, political views, hurts, fears, joys, and all the other stuff
that make up this dog called Russell, I’m going to bump into the real me. And no matter what I may think of the critter
I behold; he is what he is.
The United States has, besides Russell, 332,915,072 others who have
that same peculiarity…what we see in a mirror may make us mad or glad; it
all depends on what we brought to the mirror.
Job was no different than Russell, or you, or any of the other 7.9
billion human critters on planet earth, past and present. Job’s experience was pleasant at first. He was rich, respected, and led a good
life. Looking in the mirror would not
have been difficult. Then it changed…hero
became zero in an afternoon. His family,
riches, and comfort zone were taken down like a house of cards in a windstorm. His “friends” finished the task with 40
chapters of telling him it was his own fault.
The end of Job’s life was better (by far) than the tale of woe. But it’s been puzzling theologians, skeptics,
and scoffers for as long as humans have breathed. Why is it so that some dogs have so much to
smile about, and others growl? Job’s
answer is not about what happens
TO you, but how you
respond to what has happened. Notice that the Scripture tells us what Job
did…he prayed for his friends. The group that sat with Job, poking their
fingers on Job’s sore spots, accusing him of some secret sins that brought the
world of God’s judgment down on him…that’s the crew Job prayed God would
forgive…and bless!
Did that sound familiar? You may
have heard it on a Sunday, or read it in the life of someone else who was in on
the conversation with Job:
“You
have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your
enemy. But I say, love your enemies!
Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will
be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and
the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If
you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt
tax collectors do that much. Matthew 5:43-46
Jesus told his listeners (that’s US if we will
hear) to do a tough thing; he told them to pray for those who persecute you…love
them. But who can do that? I’m glad you asked; it’s only the dog who
brings a smile to the mirror. All the
others will rip apart whatever’s in front of them…and be angry at the entire
world for being so violent and harsh.
For You Today
What
we see in a mirror is what we bring to the table. A good piece of advice is to make sure whatever
we bring to the table is edible.
[1] Title and Other Images: Pixabay.com
and Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on this text
see When Job Got it Right and Job's Story - From Hero to Zero
(and back)
