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Speak what is Right

 


How well do you represent God? Do you ever tell people what you think God is like, or what you think God wants someone to do? 

 

I hear people affirm sin by saying, “God gave you those feelings.” “God wants you to be happy.” “Hey, God understands. He made you that way.” These sentiments almost always are tied to something unbiblical. Whenever we speak for God, we had better make sure we represent Him according to His word, and not according to the wisdom of this world. 

 

Do you remember Job’s friends? In the book that bears his name, Job loses everything in a short time—his children, his fortune, his health, and his reputation. In his culture it was believed that if a person lived right, they would be blessed; any suffering in life had to be a sign that God was punishing them for something. So Job’s friends showed up to help him, and their help was scolding him for his secret sin and imploring him to just come clean and repent. When Job insisted he had no sin from which to repent, they insulted his hubris. 

 

In Job’s weakness he finally asked God why he was suffering so much. God answered Job, not with an explanation, but by showing him how small and human he was compared to God. But then God had a word for Job’s friends. Job 42:7 says:

 

After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

 

In the next verse the Lord reiterated, “you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” Job was correct in what he said about God, but the other three misrepresented God, which earned them the wrath of God. 

 

Christian, I don’t believe God likes when we fail to present Him accurately, so make sure what you tell others about God is in line with what the Bible says. Speaking of the Bible, Job’s friends did not have one, so we are held to an even higher standard than they are, because to whom much is given, much will be required. So use the Bible to discover the truth of who God is so that you can accurately represent Him. 

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