Stop talking - Opinions vs. Revelation

In the end they all wished they had kept their mouths shut. His friends kept trying to figure out why things had gone so badly for Job? How he could have fallen so fast and so far? “You reap what you sow,” “What goes around comes around,” “You can’t fool karma,” “Your sin has found you out,” was their conclusion.“No! No! I did everything right, I don’t deserve this,’ was Job’s adamant reply. “If God would just give me hearing this could all be straightened out,” was his plea.So, round and round they went, until God spoke. Then they wished they had been silent. Job’s friends were plain wrong, their theology was faulty. Job’s expectations were misguided, he thought as long as he did everything right he was insured against calamity, disaster, and suffering.When God finally spoke he told Job to look around, to consider the universe and all of the physical creation and pay attention to what they say about God. They should inspire us to be in awe. They should cause us to consider the greatness, the wisdom, the inscrutability, the sovereignty of God (Job 38-39). “Job, do you think you are on par with me?” God wanted to know.There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to God, when it comes to trying to figure out why bad things happen to good people and bad people seem to get away with it. The problem with opinionating is that lacks any awe, it reduces God to the size of our minds, it breeds the hubris that puts us on par with God, and causes us to be blind to the fact that, "… my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV).When it comes to God we had better pay attention to revelation, to what God tells us about himself. Our opinions about God will cause us to end up in trouble, render us worshipping false gods, or denying God altogether. When God told Job to look around he called him to consider revelation, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” “… the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge” Psalm 19:1, 50:6 (NIV). Theologians call that general revelation, it should inspire humility and awe. The Bible (God’s written word) tells things about God that go beyond what the universe declares about him. It also informs us about what he thinks about us and how we should live. Theologians call the scriptures special revelation, we should give it special attention and it should inspire faith and trust. The greatest revelation of all is Jesus Christ, God’s son, who was literally God in human form (in the flesh), he should inspire us to worship, follow, and imitate him.Are you still talking, opinionizing? Maybe it time to be still and consider God, not as you want to think of him, but as he has revealed himself in the physical world, the Bible, and through Jesus Christ.To God be all glory, Pastor Hans