Sermon 32, Job 8:14-22
I have a couple of quirks that are relevant to today’s sermon.
Firstly, there is my prepper mentality. This is a firmly held tenet. I don’t believe that I will get help from others when things go bad. I believe folks are selfish and always act for their own interests not mine, I do also, and so relying on others is foolish. So, preparing seems sensible. Preparing with supplies and emotionally.
Second, is my interest in the grey man. This sits closely to prepping. This isn’t so much a tenet, more of a not-yet-fully-worked-out philosophy. Born out of previous interests in absurdism. The idea being that life is meaningless, every interaction with people is meaningless, and so retreat and find joy internally. Again, don’t engage with folks, that just brings sadness, confusion, and anger. Be a recluse.
Now, in today’s sermon my quirks are addressed.
“Here, then, the Holy Spirit condemns everything we hope for in our fellow human beings. Why? Because we are trying to find permanence somewhere other than God. It is certain we will not find it elsewhere.”
“We think our lives consist in having possessions, in having the resources to sustain and take care of ourselves. We do not do as trees do, for a tree will be satisfied with its place as long as there is room for its root.”
“…our lives are hidden in God. He protects us. And we know that Jesus Christ is the one we draw all life from. So let us be content with him as our hiding place.”
The first two Calvin quotes, and other parts of the sermon, show how my prepping mentality needs adjustment. On the one hand I am right to not trust man or the world. This is a good mindset. But on the other hand I have to embrace that I can’t, shouldn’t and needn’t rely on myself. I can, should and need to rely on God. From today’s passage, Job 8, don’t build spiderwebs, be the tree with roots.
The third Calvin quote, which is almost exactly from Col. 3:3, shows I think that the grey man idea still has some legs. Only now it is to be pursued as an act of humility and obedience to God, not as a means of escape(!). I can 100% get behind that.
This first speech by Bildad contains the parable of the two plants and I love it. I love plants and the use of plants to show resilience and improvement through pruning and transplantation is awesome and resonates.
Lastly, the sermon begins with discussion on forgetting God. This is a source of problems for me and I need to work on taking these inspirational moments with me throughout my whole day.