Job 6:8-9 - Integrity

Job 6:8-9 (KJV)

[8] Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

[9] Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

In chapter 2 Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Job would prefer to die. He would rather his life was over than to continue experiencing the grief and pain that he is enduring. There is an easy way out. At least his wife seems to think so. Just curse God and he will end your life. But Job will not curse God. He would prefer to die, but he will not take his own life and he will not curse God. That is integrity.

It is not that he knows things will get better soon. He doesn’t. In his current state it feels as though the pain will continue for a lifetime. In Job 7:5 he says, “My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.” Two verses later he says, “My eye will never again see good.” Pain has a way of blinding us to reality. It is like a thick fog to hope. It keeps us from seeing that now is not forever. Now feels like forever. Death is the only hope Job can see for relief. Yet in all of that Job maintained his integrity.

The enemy has a way of pushing our buttons to challenge our integrity. That is what this story is about at its roots. It all started when God brought Job to Satan’s attention. Satan asserted that Job’s integrity was tied to his comfortable condition in life. But that’s not really integrity. Almost anyone can demonstrate integrity when things are comfortable. It’s not integrity until it is tested. Peter wrote,

[6] In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, [7] so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV)

“The tested genuineness of your faith.” That’s what Job is about. His friends were trying to find a reason for Job’s pain. But Job is not about cause and effect. It is not about consequences to sin. It is not teaching that good people experience good things and bad people experience bad things. That is the premise Job’s friends were working from. Bad things happen to bad people. There must be some sin in Job’s life to explain his pain. They couldn’t imagine that Job’s pain was the result of his integrity. Yet integrity is not integrity until it is tested.

That’s challenging. Will I trust God even when things don’t go as I anticipated? Will I give to God and others even when I’m not sure I have enough for me? Will I serve even when it is not convenient? The truth is, I get grouchy when I haven’t eaten, or when I have a bit of a headache. The truth is my integrity is much more tied to my comfort than I care to admit. If I have a comfortable chair, a good cup of coffee, the right music playing in the background, and it’s not too hot or too cold, it is easy to think holy thoughts. But integrity shines when everything is going wrong. Integrity is integrity when it is tested.

Integrity is what truly reflects God to a fallen, broken world. Many people talk about the patience of Job. It is not Job’s patience, but Job’s integrity that is significant. May our lives reflect that same integrity of faith. May Peter’s words be true in our lives:

[6] In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, [7] so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV)