Job 8:8 (ESV)

[8] “For inquire, please, of bygone ages,

and consider what the fathers have searched out.

Bildad is challenging Job in chapter 8. Eliphaz relied on the experience of an encounter with a spirit at night for his theology. Bildad draws on the wisdom of his ancestors. There is wisdom in those who have gone before us. My generation claimed to trust no one over 30. Then we found ourselves over 30. Now we are more than twice that and realize that we still had much to learn. There is no value in ignoring the wisdom of the past. Neither is there value in taking the teachings of the past without question. Bildad draws on the collective wisdom of the ages, yet his theology is just as faulty as that of Eliphaz.

Bildad’s assumption is that bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people. If Job’s children died, then they must have been guilty. If Job is really righteous, then he will be healthy and successful again soon. Yet, as readers we have been granted the privilege of looking behind the scenes. We know what Eliphaz and Bildad do not know. We know that the death of Job’s children and servants had no direct link to some sin they had committed. Yet how often do we rely on the same theology? If someone is poor, it is because they are lazy. If someone is suffering, it is because of some sin in their lives. If a church or ministry closes, it is because they abandoned God’s truth at some point. With Bildad, we assume that bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people.

None of those things are necessarily true. Someone might be poor because of circumstances beyond their control. Someone might be suffering due to no fault of their own. A ministry may close or come to an end because it is God’s time. We cannot see hearts and motives based on our perspective of circumstances. We cannot judge what only God can see. We may see behind the curtain in Job, we only God sees behind the curtain in life.

Health and wealth theology has a new twist on the old heresy. It’s not about being good. It is about the ability to think positively, speak positively, and believe positively. If we believe enough, and think and speak positively enough we can all have health and wealth. That is a new twist on an old Pharisee belief. They believed that if one was wealthy it was because God was pleased with them. If one was poor, it was because God was not pleased. Health and Wealth theology almost ignores God. It is not about gaining God’s favor. It is simply about being, thinking, and speaking health and wealth into existence.

The Pharisees were wrong. That is why Jesus told the story of the Rich man and Lazarus. It is why he commended the poor widow who gave God all she had. He wanted his disciples to understand that outward health, wealth, and comfort have nothing to do with true holiness. Yet the idea is so insidious that we constantly fall into that way of thinking without even realizing it.

It is time to stop judging people by outward appearance. It is time to stop assuming spiritual condition based on what we see. Only God sees the heart. Job understands that. Bildad and Eliphaz do not. Unfortunately, we seldom seem to understand it either. Are you facing difficulties in life? A quick heart check before God is appropriate. A witch hunt is not. Is a friend asking for prayer? A quick question is appropriate. “Are you aware of any sin in your life that might be contributing the cause of your pain?” Incessantly asserting that there is or must be sin in their life is not appropriate. Only they and God know.

There is wisdom in relying on the collective wisdom of those who have gone before us, but it must be tested against the Word of God and the revelation of his Spirit. Without that we do great damage to brothers and sisters in Christ. Never take teaching unquestioningly. We must always test what we hear. Paul’s counsel in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 is worth listening to:

[16]  Rejoice always, [17]  pray without ceasing, [18]  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [19]  Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not despise prophecies, [21] but test everything; hold fast what is good. [22] Abstain from every form of evil.