Job 6:14-17

Job 6:14-17 14 "A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow 16 when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, 17 but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels.

Doesn’t it seem that Jobs a little harsh here toward his friends? They did sit in silence with him for a week. In fact he’s yelling at two of them who aren’t even saying anything. The key part in this text comes in 14a “even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.” I’ve known many good Christians over the years, and unfortunately I have watched them succumb to the idea that a Christian should only have Christian friends. Or I’ve talked to people in the church and they claim that all of their friends are Christian. What tends to happen is that we abandon those friendship because of attitudes that individual might have toward God. We say its behavior but really its attitude. We become overly sensitive, we think we need to correct people all the time saying “you can’t say that,” or “don’t say that” like the person is going to be struck by lightning or something for even insinuating that God might be responsible or at fault. Job is pointing out to his friend Elphaz (and the others) that you need to just be a friend, not abandon him for his new attitude toward God, no matter how founded or unfounded that attitude is. When I read this verse I remember to thank God for my non-Christian friends. They remind me why I follow Christ and how I need to seek his face in all people, all people around me. They remind me that my job is to make disciples and not pal around with other Christians all the time.