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Response
Job’s account is renowned for its exploration of the universal themes of personal suffering, enduring hope, and God’s sovereignty. Job endured immense suffering and faced his trials with patience. However, during his darkest moments, three of his acquaintances came to “console him” «Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. », (Job 2:11). They turned out to be “ineffective comforters,” according to Job’s perspective «I have heard many such things: Miserable comforters are ye all. », (Job 16:2).
Job’s supposed comforters presented various explanations for why Job was enduring such suffering. However, to make matters worse, they focused on the notion that Job must have unconfessed sins leading to God’s punishment (Job 11:14-15;22:4-7). With a clear conscience, Job grew tired of their accusations and exclaimed, “I have heard many things like these; you are all ineffective comforters” «I have heard many such things: Miserable comforters are ye all. », (Job 16:2).
The words of Job’s three friends underscore the common tendency to jump to conclusions. Their theology contained significant flaws, as they asserted that Job’s suffering was a result of wrongdoing (Job 4:7-8;22:5). Unfortunately, this led to a situation where their attempts at comforting Job were ineffective.Lately, that same idea has crept into Christianity under the umbrella of the prosperity gospel and the Word of Faith movement. Job’s “miserable comforters” are echoed in the modern teaching that God rewards the righteous if they believe hard enough, but those with weaker faith or secret sin will reap calamities. The conclusion of such thinking is that if someone suffers a string of disasters, contracts a terminal illness, or has a crippling disease, he or she must not be doing something right.
The Bible does say that we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:8; James 3:18) and that God blesses the righteous (Psalm 5:12; Psalm 32:10). But the blessing given to the righteous does not always (or usually) take material form. If it did, we would have no way to explain the anguish and deprivation suffered by the apostles, martyrs, or faithful Christians around the world (Hebrews 11:35-40). God’s blessing on the righteous is often spiritual, as we are seated “in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” «and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: », (Ephesians 2:6). By the same token, adversity and calamity in this world are not always a sign of God’s displeasure. To equate disaster with God’s curse is to behave like Job’s “miserable comforters.”
Instead of following the example of Job’s friends, we can truly comfort those who are suffering by assuring them that God knows what they are going through and He cares about them «The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. », (Psalm 34:18). We
It can remind them that, as painful as their situation is, God promises to use it for good in their lives if they love Him and trust Him with it «And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. », (Romans 8:28). Trying to assign blame during a time of loss can turn us into “miserable comforters.” Sometimes the greatest comfort we can give a hurting friend is our quiet presence. Sometimes, as Job’s friends should have learned, the best thing to say is nothing at all.
