Job 31:24–25, 28–24″Should I have put my faith in gold or told pure gold, “You are my safety?” 25 Should I have been happy about my great wealth and the luck my hands had brought me,
28 then these things would also be sins for which I would be judged, because I would have been unacceptable to God in heaven.
Job’s defense of himself in front of his friends went on. He talked about how he always helped people in need and looked out for his employees. He said that he always did those things because he was afraid of God. That he would be judged by God if he didn’t do what he was told. When we read Job’s argument, we can’t say that our lives are even close to his. Of course, Jesus Christ, not Job, is the real goal. Thanks to God for sending His Son to die for our sins.
The reading for today says that Job didn’t trust his great wealth. Christ said it was tough for wealthy people to get into God’s Kingdom. Job was one of the few people who could be trusted with money but not with their safety.
He knew that God was providing for him. Even though he worked hard to make money, he knew that God would take care of him. How many of us feel safe when our bank accounts are empty as well as when they are full? That can only happen when we realize that God is our safety, no matter how much money we have.
He wasn’t even happy about how rich he was. Being thankful is one thing, but finding joy in something is something else. The fact that God is in our lives should always make us happy. We make money into an idol that stands in for God when it becomes our reason for happiness. If you depend on money to keep you safe or find happiness in money, Job said, you will be judged for both. Both of them are not true to God.
Dear reader, take a moment to think about whether wealth has replaced God as the reason you are happy in your heart. Don’t let money tempt us to worship a different god. Keep our hearts safe. He equates this sin with worshiping the sun and moon, which are also gods, in this verse. It is wrong to make money a god. If you have done this, admit it, and put God back where He belongs in your heart. He is the only one who can keep you safe and bring you the most joy.
