Job 13-14
We are still exploring Job’s suffering and misjudgment. In this post, we reflect on compassion, understanding, and the dangers of hasty judgment. We also learn why only God sees the full picture and why kindness is so important.
Summary
Job continues to express his frustration with his suffering. He defends his innocence and challenges his friends’ arguments, criticizing their lack of understanding and accusing them of misrepresenting God. Job states that God would not be happy with their self-righteousness and judgments. Job speaks directly to God, pleading for answers and justice. He acknowledges that if he did sin, he would understand the punishment.
Job reflects deeply on the fleeting nature of human existence, comparing it to a flower that withers or a shadow that fades. He complains of the inevitability of death but also expresses a faint hope for renewal and restoration. Job feels defeated and struggles to make sense of his suffering. But he states that he will wait until God determines when his suffering will end. In the meantime, he can only dwell on his pain.
Sidebar
Job’s story resonates so deeply because it captures a universal human experience: being misunderstood or unfairly judged. His friends jump to conclusions based on their limited understanding, which only adds to Job’s suffering. Their assumption that his pain must be a direct consequence of sin reflects a tendency people still have today—to oversimplify complex situations and impose their own narratives. But the truth is, only God sees the full picture and understands our hearts completely.
I love how Job tells his friends that God would not be content with them for taking “His side.” God knows that Job didn’t sin. Job knows he didn’t sin. So, the fact that Job’s friends assume he sinned and don’t believe his pleas…THAT is what would upset God. We are never really in a position to judge. That is up to God. And yet, people still judge others in the name of God. To reiterate and as Job states, that does not please God.
Spiritual leader, Swami Mukundananda, tells a story about a woman who purchased cookies at an airport. She sat down, placed her box of cookies next to her, and took out her book. As she started reading, a man sitting next to her grabbed a cookie from the box. She was disgusted by his lack of manners. The woman didn’t say anything to the man as they both continued to eat cookies from the same box, but she was appalled. She judged his lack of couth and his disrespect for not asking if he could have a cookie. When they were down to the last cookie, the man took it, split it, and handed it to her with a smile. He picked up the empty box and walked away. She was astounded by how forward and rude the man was in sharing her cookies without asking. When she looked down again, she noticed her own box of cookies untouched! She was eating his cookies!! She erroneously judged him.
Intention
Do not judge others. Be kind. Have compassion and understanding. You don’t know what the other person may be going through, and you most likely do not have all the facts. People often lack the full understanding to judge others. Only God truly knows a person’s intentions and heart.
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
– Proverbs 21:2.
