I'll prove it! Have you ever gone to a swimming pool, and been worried that you would drown? We just know in the back of our heads that if something goes wrong, there are trained lifeguards there to save and protect us. We don't have to think about it, we leave it up to them. We don't bother imagining what would happen if the lifeguard wasn't looking at the right time... or if the lifeguard maybe was caught up with something else, or just refused to help! We wouldn't dream to assume that would happen, we simply have faith in that lifeguard! Now, that may put a lot of pressure on the lifesaving employee, but it's their job, nonetheless.
Or how about on your regular sunshine-y afternoon bike ride? Or perhaps, a walk with your dog? We trust people we pass on the sidewalk not to ram into us, or push us over. We simply expect courtesy and proper etiquette.
You know, recently every time I've been in the passenger seat of our van driving down the highway, I've been watching very anxiously the road ahead, the hazards, the driving skills of my chauffeur. Every time a car in the opposite lane is driving toward us (I can see them while they are still quite a ways away), I grip the armrests of the seat and keep my eyes peeled. For lately, I have been imagining how easy it would be to crash into that person driving. I assume that they are as determined to drive safely as we are, and yet, it would be so easy for that person to spin their steering wheel sharply, ending in a head-on collision. I doubt they would do that, but that's because I trust their motives and their driver's license. Yet, it would be so easy....
Anyways, moving on. That whole spiel was simply to emphasise my point that we are so dependent on the people around us! Most of the time, we never give a second glance to the person walking toward us, to the driver of the bus, to the driver waiting for us to cross the road... and in so many other daily circumstances that I don't even notice.
How about our dependency on other peoples' words? How many times has someone in power, or with great influence, presented a statement, and whose adoring crowds accepted without reservation? I could give examples, but I think one is very obvious. Hitler. He had soooo many people convinced that Jews were not a human race, and that they deserved to be completely wiped out. So many were deceived! He was such an influential individual, with a powerful armed force, and threatening motives, as well.
Now, that is an extreme example, but there are others of lesser value. Take ancient Aristotle's claim to an Earth-centered solar system. The geocentric model. Though this theory was not verified, proven, or well thought through, it simply made sense to the people of that day, who did not have the technology we do now. Aristotle was a high-ranking, impressive philosopher, who had much contribution toward the world of science. His name was, and still is famous. People talked about him, learned from him, and accepted his word, basically. They trusted his claims without hesitation, believing that he had well-supported evidence, as he always had in the past. His reputation was so highly valued, people didn't question his theories. That is, they didn't question it until along came good ol' Copernicus to set things straight. Copernicus didn't simply accept Aristotle at his word, he studied the skies for himself, and discovered the truth to the universe: that the sun was the centre. Hence, the heliocentric model.
So you see, there are many examples proving how quick-to-believe our minds are. If someone in authority persuades us one way, and if their claims seem to make sense to us, we often accept it. "Well, So-and-so told me that, so it must be true!" Far be it, people. So many times in my grade-school years I can remember one teacher teaching me something a certain way, only to be criticised years later by another teacher! I was confused, disturbed, and in loss-of-respect for the first teacher. Not only did I completely drop the teaching of the original one for the new perspective on the double, but little did I know that this new outlook was to be replaced in just a couple short years once again!
So, I am about to relate this to our story of Job, just hold on. So, remember last time how I talked about how confusing the book of Job was? I am so grateful that I didn't read the book of Job before any of the other books because, truth be told, I probably would have been put off and been a bit skeptical of the rest of the bible.
Why? Well, it sure made me question the way I think of
God. Just thinking back over that book, Job's friends made a lot of claims
about God that actually seemed pretty legitimate, if you ask me. But then,
there goes Job, telling them off, and giving different viewpoints and words
that seem wiser than ever. They come back for round 2, and it just keeps going!
I didn't know who to believe, until God spoke to Job himself.
See, there's who the world says God is, who we say God is, and who God says He
is. Sometimes, it feels like they can get confused.
After all the confuzzling examples at the beginning of this post of the failings of mankind concerning truth, the concept of a truthful person seems slightly... absurd. Unreachable. When I was younger, I took everyone whom I deemed trustworthy completely at their word. I didn't read later into what they had told me, I simply agreed and believed what they had to say from there on in. But now, since I have been let down by unfaithful people, and since I have been disappointed by people who I had thought were trustworthy, I am now somewhat... 'frugal' with my faith (in people). I don't simply give my complete attention and agreement to every speaker and prominent person. My brain acts more as a sift than it did years ago. I sift out what I believe to be untrue, but I still gain knowledge in other aspects of their theories and ideas that I agree with.
Still, we know that we, men and women, are sinful. We are unfaithful ourselves. No one is completely trustworthy- not one! We all have failed, we all have lied. Our hearts are so deceitful and wicked, that even though we may want to learn TRUTH with all our might, it is hard to know what is true and what is not. Satan is the Deceiver, and he is true to his name, ironically enough. He deceives us. He tells us something is true, such as "You're worthless." Or, "God isn't actually there." He whispers these things in our ears via different teachers, different scenarios, different thoughts.
With so little truth left in our world, (theoretically speaking,) who can we trust? We are bombarded with different religions, opinions, arguments, theories, philosophies, procedures, facts, evidence, debates, preferences, everything! We can choose a certain side or adopt a certain way of thinking, but how can we know that we are right?
Lately I've been feeling strangely toward the church. It just seems so... random. It seems random that out of all the places in the world I could have been born, to all the people in the world I could have been born to, to all the religions and cultures of the world that I could have been brought up in, of all the churches that I could have been introduced to, I happened to be born in a free country, to a loving family, in a Christian culture, and attend a protestant church. That is a huge blessing in itself. Now, I know that the Christian faith is the only true faith, which still seems crazy sometimes... (the whole issue of only one religion being of any merit.) But out of all the Christian churches, who's to say mine is the right one? There's Anglican, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Non-denominational... and SOOOO many others. I find it difficult to believe that only one can be the completely correct denomination, and maybe that's right. Who am I to say that my church is better than someone else's?
Anyways, that could get into a long rant that I really know nothing about... it's just something that I've been pondering lately. I've been asking God to give me wisdom and a heart that seeks only truth, and finds it shining like a bright light.
So, back to Job. This is what I've been trying to get at, folks. As I said earlier, Job is full of different claims about who God is. There was who Job's friends said God was, there was who Job said God was, and ultimately, finally, God told them who He was.
Now, I'm sure glad I stuck with Job. When I first read it, I felt suddenly depressed. I read it over a span of a few days, I think. At first, I didn't know what to believe! It just seemed so contradictory. It seemed so... unplanned, unorderly, and just plain wrong. I thought, 'Okay, this guy seems to know what he's talking about,' and then someone else started talking, and he seemed correct too. People were just arguing over and over about who God was. And the annoying thing was, they all seemed right! I couldn't determine which one was right.
But then, then, I got to the end. The moment I was praying would come. GOD told them who He was. And who better to trust for the truth than Him, right? One of my fears is trusting someone with all my heart, and then having them disappoint me; by proving themselves un-trustworthy. It's happened before, it'll happen again. Sometimes, my worries turn into disheartening ideas that there is no one I can trust.
But, there is. And I know it with all my heart! God IS truth. He is truth itself! He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE! There need not be confusion in our hearts. If we are truly seeking God, then we will find Him. And when we find Him, we find truth. Those buddies of Job's may have had good intentions, good ideas about God, and maybe there were little nuggets of truth hidden in their words, I don't know. Their speech was persuasive. I empathised with them, I thought, "Wow. This is powerful." But I was shocked to read that they were wrong.
See, they were making for themselves the god that they wanted. They were taking parts of God that they wanted and leaving out parts that they didn't, adding some little things that they wanted to throw in. That's not God! It sounded pleasing, it sounded right. It fooled me! But, I know for a fact that the only words that are guaranteed to be 100% true are God's! He is truth. What He says is true. And what He says... is the bible.
I was tempted to believe what those men were saying. I wanted to believe what they said about who God was... until I read what God said about Himself. And who would know better? It's the same way with everything in the Bible. He has given us so many promises, and they are true. We can count on that completely, without any doubt.
I think it's healthy to build up constructive skepticism of anything in this world. People will deceive you. Sometimes, they aren't trying to. Sometimes, it may be hard to know for certain. People can coat lies in sugar and icing, and making it so appealing that you just want to believe it. People can give you 75% truth, and then twist the last quarter to make it untrue. People may think they are totally right, and they may be trying to help you grow in your walk with God! It's true- even powerful Spiritual speakers and professors can be wrong. They want to lead you on the right path toward God, but man is finite. Man is imperfect. Man will fail.
So don't just take people at their word. Take everything at God's word. Everything needs to be backed up with the Bible, and line up with what God has said. He is truth, and that sets a standard.
I read a saying once, and it impacted me. It was maybe six years ago, but I won't ever forget it:
A million people believing a lie
Does not make it true.
I want to encourage you to seek God first before man. There are millions of wrong ideas out there, and so many of them look like truth. They are temptations, really. But the only way to know for certain is to ask God about it. We are swayed and deceived so easily, but if we know the Bible and know God's word, if we memorize His Scripture and keep it all stowed away in our hearts, we will be better prepared to stand our ground in the barrage of lies that are thrown at us each and every day.
John 8:32 ~ And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
