Job 11:1-20 – Zophar is Mean!

Read Job 11:1-20

Zophar is crude and rude, and I’m surprised Job didn’t send him packing. We want our friends to be truthful, but we hope our friends will try and sugar coat the hard stuff–just a bit. The hard stuff will still be difficult to deal with, such as hurt feelings, empty bank accounts, illness, death of loved ones, etc. There is a time for being blunt and a time to round off the edges, so to speak. Zophar missed that courtesy memo in his upbringing.

This so-called friend, Zophar, is impatient, too. He does not handle his friend’s delicate emotional state well. Some of the things Zophar says to Job are just downright hurtful. Especially when he uses the “what if” scenarios to seemingly “drive the knife in further” in terms of Job’s emotional state. Continue reading “Job 11:1-20 – Zophar is Mean!”

Proverbs 18:14-24 – Know Your Enemies

Read Proverbs 18:14-24

bears hugging

You’ve probably heard the saying, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” a line from the movie, Godfather II. It can be wise advice because you never know when your “friend” might actually be your enemy. Verse 24 would seem to hint at this as it says, “There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” Have you ever been betrayed by a “friend?”

We hear almost daily of bullying accounts of one kind or another. Just the other day a dear friend of mine who has some “special needs” told me how someone she’s known for a while has started to call her “stupid.” How hurtful. What sort of motivation would lead a “friend” to call another friend stupid? We are meant to build each other up, not tear each other down. These were grown-ups!

Continue reading “Proverbs 18:14-24 – Know Your Enemies”
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