HONOUR AND INTEGRITY

⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ⁸ And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job 2:7–10 (NKJV)

 

The book of Job happens to be one of my favorite books in the bible, and anytime I am going through difficult moments, I turn to those pages and read the entire book for strength and encouragement. I believe every child of God needs to read this book over and over again, because that book still speaks to us, especially when you are going through tough times. I have this quote I wrote in my journal and prayed to God about during my wilderness session; that “Lord, help me, so that anytime I am tempted to give up in life, I would remember the story of Job, and say to myself, I have not reached his level yet”. I think we should all remember this and tell ourselves the same words when we are tempted to give up in life during trail moments.

Brethren, my focus this morning is on maintaining honor and integrity during difficult or challenging moments with people around us. Be it, your family, partner or spouse, children, friends and loved ones. Or even sometimes in the corporate world, particularly Startups with promising visions. Like Jesus will ask his twelve apostles, “Will you also go away from me, too?” (John 6:67). It was the start of Jesus’ mission and based on some statements he made, the bible tells us many left. Just like the start of any new Startup which goes through financial challenges, and staff being to bounce out and not become committed to the vision. Suddenly, that vigor, energy and passion which was driving everyone, starts diminishing because of crisis. And people will not want to put in any effort again, but rather are interested in draining and squeezing the last oil out of the company and take it down and down, then ‘abandon ship’.

The first time I read the book of Job and came across the comment by Job’s wife, I was shocked and branded her to be truly wicked and insensitive. Why would a wife, not say any soothing words, but add to the pains of her husband? Brethren, that was my view for a very long time, until most recently I was studying about women characters in the bible and their roles. When I came to Job’s wife, the Spirit of God prompted me to read the text well and try to listen to comments from other preachers before I draw my conclusions. I did exactly that and this is what I found out.

Comments from preachers is divided on this subject. While some maintain that the woman was unkind with her words and therefore was cursed by God, others also believe she was expressing her feelings as a woman and therefore was the same woman whom God blessed again in the ending of the book of Job. It was interesting to read and listen to all those sermons and commentaries. At least, my eyes were opened and I began to have an open mind on this subject. Concluding on this subject, I chose to be neutral in my position based on the fact that;

1. I need to be empathetic towards a woman who had it all and all of a sudden, the family is struck with difficulties and she cannot comprehend.
2. The bible was not clear whether she was cursed by God and died or she abandoned Job and left. The only time we heard from her was in chapter 2.
3. Once again, the bible was not clear, whether she was the same woman God blessed in the ending of the book.

Brethren, my position changed on this subject and I still maintain a neutral position. A lot of things in life do not add up, they are mysteries and will continue to be mysteries to us. However, I will want to say that honor and integrity matters most, in trail moments or challenging times. Our life is full of relationships; therefore ‘Honor’ and ‘Integrity’ is very crucial especially when dealing with people. Remember, God boosted of Job to Satan, He said “Have you thought about my servant Job? No one in the world is like him! He is a man of integrity: He is decent, he fears God, and he stays away from evil.” (Job 1:8 (GW)). Job actually proved that and maintained his integrity from the beginning of his trial till the end. I already spoke about how people working for new companies or startups abandon ship during difficult moments. One thing we need to realize is that, abandoning the ship and leaving the captain does not destroy the vision. The vision is what drives the company or ship. The captain can be changed or the same captain can be revived with reviewed energy and the ship can also be repaired again because of the vision. Once it is re-launched, that is when they make a better voyage.

Am speaking to many of us who are always in the habit of abandoning ships and hopping onto another one. That lifestyle does not make you honorable and a person of integrity. Sometimes, the family or your spouse or your kid(s) will be going through difficult moments, and the best you can do is abandon them and run away. Leaving them to struggle all alone. One thing, I picked up early in life was never to give up on people no matter what the situation or circumstances. Because I am not their creator, God is. And God can change their circumstances or situations anytime. Remember Joseph, in Genesis 37, his brothers thought they were killing his dreams by selling him into slavery. They never knew they were rather speeding up the process. Mr. and Mrs. Potiphar also thought they were punishing him by putting him in jail, little did they know they were also pushing him closer to the crown of glory.

Brethren, let’s come to the new testament because we are still in the Easter mood. The Jewish leaders thought by bribing the soldiers and buying people to spread lies that “Jesus’ followers came during the night and stole the body...” (Matthew 28:12-15). They did not know it was the beginning of a revival. They also did not know that by persecuting the Apostles and the early Christians as we read throughout Acts of the Apostles, they were helping the spread of the gospel.

There are many at times we are prompted by the spirit of God to be watchful and seek God when we are confused and unsure what is happening. Other times, we are blessed to hear messages like this cautioning us like Gamaliel cautioned the Jewish leaders against killing the disciples of Jesus, saying that “if their ideas were of human origin, they would fall apart, but if it is from God you cannot stop it. You will only find yourself fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39). There are many of us like the Jewish leaders, fighting against God. We have no honor, we have no integrity. We are blinded by so-called principles that the world teaches, rather than seeing things from God’s perspective through reading of scriptures.  I thank Jesus for his words in Matthew 11:25 (NCV); he said “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children.”

In conclusion, I want to ask you, how far can you go with that family member, partner or spouse, that child, or that friend during difficult moments? Will you walk away, and abandon ship or stick with them through it all while looking up to God? Let us remember, we are not God and can never be God to know the future and what it promises. Read the entire story of Job and take a position.

Shalom and Peace to you.

 

Maurice Luther

Founder the Christian Migrant Network

thechristianmigrant@gmail.com