Scorn on the Strugglers

Job 9-12

The tension continues to rise in this poem between Job and his grieving companions. Job unrelentingly insists on his innocence, on the disconnect between his behavior and these consequences. Any wrongdoing Job may have done still didn't deserve this kind of punishment, this kind of hardship, this kind of disaster.

Those who observe and hear Job, though, continue to push-back. They cast doubt on Job's assertions. The more that Job lays out his lack of wrongdoing and contrasts it with God's extreme dosage of suffering - the tension only increases. His friends side with God and insist that Job is in the wrong. Ironically, much of what they have to say lacks knowledge of the true situation, and it lacks compassion.

We ought to avoid saying too much to those that struggle. If we find ourselves scorning those who are suffering, we need to look around at our own situation. Are we scorning from a position of health, security, advantage, blessing?

Are we fully informed as to why the others are struggling? Is the best we can do marked by scorn and putting people in their place? Is there value in listening - really listening? Is their value in letting their struggle stir up uncertainty and introspection in your own life?

Beware those who scorn the strugglers.