Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth
Perceptions are interesting, and they are generally based on comparisons. As a kid I remember asking questions trying to figure out who and where we were in the world. I remember questions like that from my own children. A child may ask, “Are we rich?” or “Are we poor?” A girl may ask, “Am I pretty?” or a boy may ask, “Are we famous?” How would you know the answers to these questions? We often answer these questions by comparison.
Recently, there was a canned music festival in the French Riviera with all these beautiful, rich people who are widely loved. How do we know all these things about them? We may place some intrinsic value upon them, but they are really just living in a bubble with other people like them. The same is true in Washington D.C. Whether you are conservative or liberal, you want to be liked on the cocktail circuit, so you end up comparing yourself to other people. Pretty much everyone lives in a bubble. The question is in which bubble you choose to live.
You see, whenever you compare yourself to other people, one of two things happens. You either become proud or jealous because in either case your estimation of yourself is relative. It is compared to someone else. In speaking of Job’s story, Job 38:1 says, “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said.” After thirty-seven chapters of speculation and oration between Job, his friends, and Elihu, God says, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” None of them, including Job, knew what they were talking about.
In Job 37, Elihu says, “For we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness.” They couldn’t see what they were saying. Job 37:23 says, “Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power.” In Job 34:35, Elihu says, “Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom.” Job 35:16 says, “Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.” That wasn’t just true of Job; that was true of the guys saying this about Job. Their perspective was very limited. Ultimately, clarity does not come with comparison because comparison is relative. It is related to things that change.
Sometimes we compare our present to our past. Job had done that. He talked about how rich and well respected he was, but now things had changed. Our estimation of now is based on its comparison to the past. Sometimes we work one against the other. Sometimes we compare good to bad. Are things good? Well, that is relative to what we consider to be bad or vice versa. We often compare ourselves to others. The Bible says that comparing ourselves among ourselves is not wise; it is foolish. Ultimately clarity cannot come by comparison.
Clarity comes from seeing God. In Job 42:5 Job speaks to God, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.” Seeing and hearing God changed everything for Job. In Job 40:4 Job says, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.” Job was saying, “I have seen God and heard God, and I’m just going to shut up because I don’t know what I am talking about.” I am vile, not compared to what I was, not compared to what you are, not compared to what I wish, but compared to God. God is absolute.
Throughout the book of Job, Job says that he wanted to argue his case before God. It is kind of like the man who makes a wish and the genie appears. God is not a genie, but the one to whom Job had been wishing to speak was suddenly present, and Job realized he didn’t know what he was talking about. Someone has said, “I had a million questions, but when I met God, none of them seemed to matter.”
Now, my questions do matter to me and your questions matter to you, but Job faced God and realized, “Wow, what do I have to say?” God had asked Job a number of questions. Job, can you create the universe? Can you create an animal? Can you understand life? The answers were that Job was nothing. God is the Creator and Sustainer. He is good and has a purpose. In Isaiah, Jehovah says “To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal…?” The answer is no one. There is a difference between something relative, a thing that is estimated compared to time, place, and other people, and a thing that is absolute. God is absolutely what He is. He is absolutely holy and wise. Whatever you and I think we are, it is in comparison to people we can see.
Quality changes but value never does. When I say quality, I mean the quality of life. Think about the quality of life in 1900 in America when a lifespan was 50 or 60. There was no air conditioning or cars. Later, there was the horseless carriage, as if a car’s value was determined by its comparison to a horse-drawn carriage. They had ice boxes, as if the refrigerator was just another form of an ice box. So, quality changes. Compare that to 1970 when we had air conditioning, cars, and conveniences available, and then think about now in 2024. Quality changes, but are we any happier now than we were in 1900? The truth is, I may be thousands of dollars richer but still poorer than my neighbor in which case I consider myself poor because I am comparing myself to something that is relative.
Quality of life changes, but the value of life never does. Your value is never determined by what you are as compared to other people. Your value is given to you by your Creator, God Almighty. Quality of life changes, but value never does. Seek answers, but don’t just seek answers. Seek God because ultimately clarity does not come from comparison. Clarity comes from seeing God.