daily java

Daily Java:

Elihu continued speaking: “Let me go on, and I will show you the truth. For I have not stopped defending God. I will present profound arguments for the righteousness of my Creator. I am telling your nothing but the truth, for I am a man of great knowledge.” (Job 36:1-4)

There was a woman I knew who knew in her heart that she was the smartest person in any room. She told me that one day. And in her knowledge of her intellectual superiority, she expected two things;

1. that everyone else would eventually realize it and
2. they would all resent it.

I noticed, though, that when she spoke, she didn’t necessarily say anything particularly intelligent or scholarly. For the most part, she talked about herself and stuff she didn’t like.

She home schooled her children (of which she had 12) so that probably reinforced her feelings of superiority. She could tell her kids things and they really couldn’t contradict her. She was the final authority on everything at home and felt she should be elsewhere.

I thought she was silly and she turned out to be a bit more unstable than I thought after she did some things that hurt our family.

I have been reading the book of Job in my daily Bible reading. It is not a pleasant book to read, yet I understand why God included it in the canon. Or at least I think I do.

It is a book that shows two things:

1. things that happen to you are not always your fault. Sometimes they have no real reason. and
2. your friends can be ignorant and unaware idiots that think they have all the answers. They do not, no matter who hard they want to or how much they think they do.

Job’s three friends (?!) tried their best to convince Job that he had sinned before God and deserved what had happened to him. He tried his best to defend himself against their charges.

The fourth man was evidently a young man who sat also listening to the interchange between the three men and Job. The men didn’t do a good enough job, Elihu thought, so he was “forced” into defending God. Nobody else would, so he had to. Somebody has to stand up and tell the truth or God will be undefended.

Since I have already used the two things meme twice on this post, I will again. There are two things about trying to make sure God is defended:

1. God does not need defending. He can defend himself better than we ever could. And
2. The people “defending” God usually do not have the slightest idea of what they are talking.

Elihu is mad because the arguments the men have used to Job have gone “unanswered.” They were worthless and seemed to roll of Job like water of a duck’s back. He felt the arguments needed to be stronger, that by his giving stronger arguments, and more of them, by explaining further the cause of God would be advanced and Job would be made aware of his failure.

And it was up to him to make the necessary arguments. After all, it was obvious to all who had half a brain that he was the smartest person on the dung heap where Job was staying at present.

The funny thing about him is, nobody ever even comments on his diatribe when he is through. Nobody says a thing, either negatively or positively. Nobody says, Oh shut up, you little twerp. Nobody says, I don’t think so. Nobody says anything.

The smartest person in the room is roundly ignored and his arguments are shown to be worthless.

Just because you think you are the smartest person in the world, or simply because a small group of people think you are doesn’t really mean anything. Just because you have a badge or people elected you to an office, or you have a diploma or anything else doesn’t’ mean anything if what you say is goofy.

What Elihu said was worthless. All it was really was a rehash of what the other three had already said, just put in an obnoxious way.

He wasn't really as smart as he thought he was. Nobody ever is.