Clear Conscience and Deep Roots

Day 10 of 365...


Job 24-28



Job 27:3-6 - "as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils, my lips will not speak unjustly, and my tongue will not utter deceit.  I will never affirm that you are right.  I will maintain my integrity until I die.  I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.  My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live!"


This is the age of instant everything...instant coffee, fast food, instant access to information.  I can now find out instant information about my friends and family through avenues such as Facebook and Twitter.  While most of these things aren't inherently bad, there are times that I don't (as well as others) necessarily thing about what I'm going to say (or type).  Actually, going through the Bible in a year and this blog has given me the opportunity to practice the discipline of thinking about what I'm going to say before I say it.  Job addresses this to a certain degree in the passage above.  He says, "my lips will not speak unjustly, and my tongue will not utter deceit."  While the context is not necessarily the same, I still believe the concept is still applicable.  Then, he speaks of integrity and righteousness.  These ideas are preached to us at a young age.  However, it isn't until you are faced with a situation where these have to be put into practice that who you are will be defined.  Job knew how he was going to respond in these situations.  I pray that I face them with the same confidence and resolve.  That way, I can state the same Job did, "My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live."


Job 28:25-28 - "When God fixed the weight of the wind and limited the water by measure, when He established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning, He considered wisdom and evaluated it; He established it and examined it.  He said to mankind, "Look! The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding." 


In Chapter 28, Job goes on a discourse about wisdom and understanding.  He defines wisdom as having fear of the Lord, and understanding as turning from evil.  While Webster's Dictionary may not define these words like that, I think Job is on to something.  After all, where does wisdom come from and who gives us understanding?  In fact, verse 27 actually states that God established wisdom.  Consider this, with what Job has been through, it would seem that understanding may be one of the things that Job might be struggling with at this point.  However, even through all of his pain and losses, he is still able to state that understanding is to turn away from evil.  For Job, the easy way out would have been to curse God and die, but, Job's beliefs were so strong and so grounded that he was still able to have the wisdom and understanding to turn away from evil and endure.  I want my beliefs and knowledge to be rooted that deep so that when the winds of pain and torment come, God will be my strength to endure.