Job 12:5

S Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

O Job is presenting his argument that God does as He pleases. The whole of creation is His and all that happens in it is his perrogative. He makes a further point that man does not gain wisdom, knowledge or excel by his own virtues.

A The lesson is to not become prideful about the influence I have on my own life. All true control of the events in my life are under God’s control. No righteous action of mine obligates God to bless me in this life, nor does any sin obligate him to punish me in this life. Taking a prideful position that believes otherwise can lead us to have a destructive attitude of entitlement. This will separate use from fully cherishing God’s gift to us, and keep us from having the appropriate empathy for all our fellow people. God’s covenant with us is a true act of mercy, because his participation in it is purely voluntary. We do not have any claim over him. It is important to not get tangled up in looking for reward in this life, which leads to valuing this life that we should be prepared to lose. Our experience here is much more akin to being on an airplane. While on board, we have control of our behavior, being able to move about and interact with the other occupants. However, the pilot is able to take us anywhere he choses, with no true ability of ours to influence it.

P Father,

Praise you for your infinite generosity. Thank you for empowering me to take part in securing my eternal life with you. Help me to not be deceived by or enamored with the consequences of this life.

Amen

1. This entry was posted on Monday, October 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Journal Entry, Michael Gores. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.