There is a poem that I have enjoyed for many years, but I could
never see how it could be used in a sermon, until I began to study the
friends of Job. I want to share it with you, for it both describes
them, and gives us insight into why they could be so wrong when
they were so often right. It is called The Blind Men and The
Elephant by John Saxe.
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much incline,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to ball:
"God bless me! But the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
The second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! What have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
The third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
The fourth reached out a eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he;
" 'Tis clear enough, the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
The fifth who chanced to touch the ear, Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
The sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong.
Job's friends were each partly in the right, but all were in the
wrong. The reason is the same as for the blind men. They were
blind to all of reality but their own narrow perspective. They had
found their peace of the puzzle, and declared that to be the puzzle.
It was all so easy to solve, for there were no complexities to deal
with. The friends of Job explained life's sufferings, and specifically
Job's sufferings, as very simple and obvious. They said there is no
mystery here at all. It is clear as a bell that suffering is God's
judgment on the sinner. Job is suffering, therefore, Job is a sinner.
We know Job was not suffering due to his sin, and God was not
chastening him for any failure. But we do not know this about
others who suffer, so how are we to deal with them? The same way
Job's friends should have dealt with him. They should have been
willing to admit the mystery, and not pretend to know what they did
not know. It is one of the worst forms of pride to be unwilling to
confess ignorance. Everybody is ignorant concerning many of the
mysteries of life, and especially the mysteries of suffering. The first
thing you will do about suffering, if you are wise, is not to jump to
conclusions. That was the mistake of the blind men, and Job's
friends. They had their theories about things, and immediately
began to declare them as the sum of all wisdom.
The second thing we learn from their mistakes is, do not deal with
people and their problems as categories, but deal with them as
individuals. Job was an unique individual, and his suffering did not
fit any general category. This is not to say there is not general
category, for there is. There is suffering that is the chastening of
God. There is suffering that is the result of sin. There is suffering
that is the result of ignorance. There are valid general categories,
but it is a mistake to take any individual sufferer, and cast him into
one of these categories, without adequate study of his individual
situation. This takes time, and communication with the individual to
gain understanding.
Job's friends just assumed that Job fell into a certain category,
because they could not see any other category where he would fit.
This was a sin, and they needed to be forgiven to be right with God.
It is a common sin to be guilty of, this treating people as categories,
and not as individuals. The more you study the controversial issues
of life, the more you realize that there is usually some truth on all
sides. Some will have truth that applies to many situations, and
others will have truth that fits different situations.
The wise Christian is one who refuses to assume that there is only
one way to look at an issue. Life is complex, and each individual
situation must be dealt with on its own merits.
Take divorce for example: Some Christians argue that it is
never the will of God, but others are equally convinced that it can be
the will of God. The Bible would support both. It is never God's
best, but it is sometimes the lesser of two evils. It was for their
hardness of heart that God granted the right of divorce in the Old
Testament, but the point is, He did grant it, and not because it was
good, but because it can be the best thing in a bad situation. The
Bible does not take a hard nosed one sided stand, with no exceptions.
Jesus clearly stated an exception, and established that a Christian
must deal with each situation on its own merits.
If we follow this through on all kinds of issues on life, and
especially the issue of suffering, we will avoid the folly of Job's
friends. They were rigid and inflexible. They responded to Job like
they would a drunken bum who ended up behind bars. They said,
"You brought this on yourself Job. By your sin and rebellion
against God." They knew of no sin he had committed, but because
they only had one category to put him in, that of a sinner, they
jumped to this conclusion. They had no category of righteous people
who suffer unjustly. Their false attitude, and inability to deal with
issues on an individual basis, forced them to be cruel to Job. To
comfort him would be to encourage a sinner in his rebellion. Their
motive was noble, and they thought they were being the best of
friends, but they blew it because they refused to deal with Job as an
individual.
There was no room in their thinking for an exception. Even God
was not allowed to be free in their theology. He had to be, and do,
just what they said he had to be, and do. He could not relate to an
individual on a unique basis, but had to relate to all people the same.
He was like a giant cosmic computer programmed to conform to
their concept of who he was. The explains God's anger at the end of
the book. God said to Eliphaz, and his two companions, in 42:7,
"My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends: For
you have not spoken of Me what is right..." God was not pleased
with all of their eloquent praises of His power and majesty, for they
distorted it to make God look as cruel as they were.
God finally came to His own defense, because these so called
defenders were making Him look terrible, until Job was beginning
to think God was his enemy. God and men desire to be dealt with as
individuals, and not to do so is to lose compassion, and become a
cold and callous counselor. John R. Thomas was judged by some to
be a hard hearted boy, while others felt he must be a lad of great
faith. Both miss the boat, for they judged him by putting him into a
category based on external evidence, rather than getting to know
him as an individual. As chaplain of a state hospital in Madison,
Wisconsin, he tells his inner story. When he was ten or eleven his
mother taught him how to respond to the question, what are you
going to do when you grow up? He was to say, "When I grow up to
be a man, I'm going to take care of gran."
Gran was his mother's mother, who lived with them. All of the
ladies who visited were so impressed with this young boys devotion
to his grandmother. "What a wonderful boy," they would exclaim.
As he grew older, he realized he did not want to devote his life to
caring for his grandmother. He wanted a life of his own. When she
died, his sisters and brothers were all weeping, but he was not sad at
all. Some of the relatives thought he was not sad because of his faith
that she was in heaven. Others thought he was cold and heartless.
Those who took the pains to know him as an individual understood
that he was relieved by her death, for he had been made to feel he
was responsible for spending his life caring for her. His fear was
now relieved, for she was gone. The innocent little game his mother
started led to John having a unique attitude in this particular
situation. It could only be understood by dealing with John as an
individual, rather than a category.
hen Jesus teaches us not to judge, this is one of the things He
was getting at. Don't judge people on the basis of mechanical
categories. If you are not going to take the time to get to know them
as individuals, and understand them as unique persons, then just
refrain from making any judgments, for that is an immoral way to
deal with people. People who suffer struggle with their own self-image,
just as Job did. They ask, am I really a worth while person?
Would I be better off dead? When such sufferers are treated
without regard to their individuality, they feel rejected, just as Job
did.
The wise counsel we received in seminary was helpful, and life
has confirmed its value. Never be shocked at anything you hear, but
except the person where they are. No matter how wicked the sin;
how deep the grief; or how rebellious or bitter, you accept it as a
normal response for that person, at that time. If you can not accept
negative emotions, as Job's friends could not, then you have no
business being a counselor of the distressed. You will do much harm,
because you will be frequently jumping to conclusions.
