Year 5, Day 102: Job 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Competency

• Competency: Being able to accomplish what one is called to do.

The more I read through the book of Job, the more I value the ability to listen.  I used to love to talk.  Okay, I still do love to talk.  But I have learned the value of talking less.  Many of the deepest conversations I have begin with me doing a good 15 or 20 minutes of listening where I don’t say much of anything.

You see, good listening skills help to make people competent.  When we listen, we get a better handle on what is actually happening.  When we listen to what is actually happening, we can get a better grip on what actually needs to be said or done.  If we want to be competent, we need to have more than a good education or a profound understanding.  We need to listen.

Listen to Bildad here in this passage.  Bildad starts off with some really great pieces of wisdom.  He knows what to say!  He seems like he’s got all the clichés memorized and knows how to put them out there.  When looking on the surface of these words, it is easy to read what Bildad says and completely miss the error.

The error is in his application.  Bildad doesn’t know Job as well as he could have.  Apparently Bildad hasn’t been listening.  Bildad wants to jump straight to the problem.  Bildad believes – because he hasn’t taken the time to listen competently – that Job is in turmoil because he’s lost his righteousness.  Bildad believes that if Job can just become righteous again that God will once more fight on behalf of Job.

Bildad’s missed the point.  For all of Bildad’s understanding and all of his clichés, he’s missed the point.  Job’s not in turmoil because he is unrighteous.  Job’s in turmoil because he is righteous.  Bildad’s inability to listen leads him into incompetency.

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