Can You Be A Good Person And Not Care For The Weak?

Not according to the book of Job!

For the first 28 chapters Job is under the continued harassment and accusation of his friends that the cause of his epic suffering must be the presence of extraordinary sin in his life. In Chapters 29 and 30 Job shares the sweetness of the “friendship of God” prior to the cataclysm of pain and loss that now engulfs him. And In contradiction to their repeated assertions of his unrepentant wickedness he makes unhesitating declarations and descriptions of his actual positive holiness (though he never declares himself to be without sin).

Of the many striking and theologically significant aspects of the book of Job, this is one that I think is the most consistently overlooked- how Job defines what it means to be right before God. And I think the reason why we overlook it is because Job does not describe what it means to be a “good” person or righteous man or woman in the way we expect it or to perhaps to put it more pointedly, the way we would like him to define it. For when Job defends the righteousness of his life, which God has already declared of him (Job 1), he does not describe his prayer life, theological knowledge, how frequently he fasts, church offices he holds, etc., but his entire argument is based on how he has dealt with and cared for the orphan, the afflicted, and the needy.

“because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him. The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.” (Job 29:12-16).

In one of the most emotionally moving scenes of the entire book; Job begs God to act on his behalf for “does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help?’ (Job 30:24). In the insanity and desperation of his suffering, Job contrasts the righteousness he has shown the afflicted and the lack of goodness Job feels displayed in God’s silence. “Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?” (Job 30:25)

Could you sum up your life that way? Would that be how you would define righteousness? If you were making an appeal to God on account of your right standing before Him, your “goodness” – is this what you would say? Perhaps one of the most important lessons we need to learn from Job is not only patience (perseverance) in the midst of difficulty, but also a passion for those whose whole lives are difficult.