29 “Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy,
Or [q]exulted when evil befell him?
30 “[r]No, I have not [s]allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in a curse.
31 “Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can [t]find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?
32 “The alien has not lodged outside,
For I have opened my doors to the [u]traveler.
33 “Have I covered my transgressions like [v]Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Because I feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And kept silent and did not go out of doors?
35 “Oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my [w]signature;
Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my adversary has written,
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
I would bind it to myself like a crown.
37 “I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.38 “If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have eaten its [x]fruit without money,
Or have caused [y]its owners to lose their lives,
40 Let briars [z]grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”The words of Job are ended.
Job’s final words give us some more food for thought, and the first couple verses are something we shouldn’t gloss over. Of course, Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who wrong us. So naturally we shouldn’t rejoice when someone dies, even if they would be considered our enemy.
But I know I’ve not been blameless when it comes to how I talk or think about certain politicians in our country, and I’ve seen plenty of others who let their emotions get the better of them. We need to be very careful of what we say about our elected officials, and more importantly, we need to pray for them. In all things related to our government, from federal all the way down to our local school boards, they need our prayer instead of our hate and vitriol.
Even if I feel like I’m completely in the right, if I don’t have something good to say, then I need to keep my mouth shut. I can’t display God’s love in my life, and He is not glorified by a rant on social media. Certainly, there are people and places and procedures for accountability. But it’s far too easy to let emotion rise up and say things that do not display the character of Jesus.
The fruit of the Spirit includes self-control, among other virtues, and we would do well do ensure all our political commentary, public or otherwise, stays within those boundaries. Let God work through you, and pray that His will be done, even if you’re not happy with the results!