I was studying in Spain the summer before my junior year in college when my grandmother died. After returning to the States, I made it a point to go to her graveside. I was terribly sad to lose her; she had lived 90 years well. She had a deep, abiding reverent faith in God. She was very proper and formal. She and my grandfather had served in ministry together for nearly 70 years. I can remember her telling me as a child that I needed to dress up for church to show my respect for God in his house. So, when I decided to see her grave, out of respect for her viewpoint, I put on a dress. I thought she would approve. I drove over to the cemetery and parked the car. Her grave site was a long walk across the graveyard. I made my way through the fence and past dozens of graves to her gravestone when I realized I had a huge wad of bubble gum in my mouth. In my angst of visiting, I was smacking it loudly to myself. Mortified that perhaps she could hear me, I turned and ran out of the cemetery and looked for the nearest trash can to throw it out. As I returned, I realized how foolish I was. First of all, Grandmother was not watching me. What I wore to visit her grave was of no consequence. She was in a much better place where style and etiquette simply don’t matter. Second, she couldn’t hear me popping my gum, either. I didn’t need to waste it throwing it out before the flavor was gone. Finally, while my Grandmother was right about nearly everything, I don’t agree that God cares for reverent piety and an outward show of respect through clothing. I do think, though, that Grandmother would agree that He looks upon the heart. Where we differ is that she would challenge that your outward piety demonstrated an inward reverence. But I disagree.
And I’m in good company. Job is having quite a dialogue with his buddies. Repeatedly, they call him on the carpet for addressing God so irreverently and speaking to God as if he were mortal. Eliphaz scolds him,
“Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind? Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value? But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God,” (Job 15:2-4).
Religion dictates that certain rules and forms be followed. But Job is not interested in religion. He knows religion is useless to him. What he is desperate for is answers from God himself. The only way to get answers is to ask questions. When you’re whole life has turned inside out, you are going to have some emotional questions to ask God. What further torments Job is that he can’t hear God. Eliphaz adds insult to injury when he say, “Are God’s promises not enough for you, spoken so gently and tenderly?” (Job 15:11). At this point in Job’s story, God hasn’t entered the conversation yet so I have to assume Eliphaz thinks his own words are directly from God. Hardly gentle or tender. Job rebukes him as such in chapter 16,
“I’ve had all I can take of your talk. What a bunch of miserable comforters! Is there no end to your windbag speeches? What’s your problem that you go on and on like this? If you were in my shoes, I could talk just like you. I could put together a terrific harangue and really let you have it. But I’d never do that. I’d console and comfort, make things better, not worse! (Job 16:1-5)
I love Job’s engagement here. He differentiates himself and maintains his position. Job speaks clearly and directly to God venting his frustration and bewilderment over his suffering. He is serious about understanding God. He wants truth and he wants answers. His heart is blameless. Nowhere does he curse God or trivialize God. If fact, he does just the opposite. He addresses God head on. I see Job’s intensity and volatility representing a deep passion for true relationship with his Creator. Nowhere do I see impropriety or an inappropriate familiarity. He is simply getting it all out to get to the bottom of his despair. He cannot get to the bottom of it by piping out platitudes and religious cliches. He knows the pain is not going away until God himself removes it. He knows his situation is not going to change unless God himself changes it. So he takes everything he’s got and goes all out to question and understand God.
We’re only halfway through Job’s story but I’ve already peeked at the end. And Job ends well. God is okay with Job venting his frustration because Job’s heart is pure. Job isn’t looking to trash God or belittle him, he’s looking for a way out of a pretty extraordinary situation. And God can handle his anger. He can handle yours, too. We get into trouble when we minimize our troubles and snack away on pious, pithy Christian expressions. Put all that away and simply pour out your heart to God. He can handle your anger and he can handle your questions. Nothing you’ve got is anything He hasn’t seen before. If you can’t hear him just yet, then strengthen yourself by waiting. Trust that at his very core, God is good. Good things are coming. They always do. I’ve peeked at the end.
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