Job 29-31 Entitlement

No entitlement.  Many men, when beaten down by circumstances, will sooner or later end up feeling entitled to sin because of their circumstances.  Things have gone poorly, so “I deserve…”

 

Job is crying out to God, speaking of how he’s made righteousness his byword.  In the middle of it all, he says, “But I made an agreement with my eyes not to look with desire at a girl.”  Job was still married, yet his wife was encouraging him to curse God so he could die and get out of his misery!  Still he didn’t feel entitled to sin ”even a little”, with only his thought or his eyes, or with his body.

 

My commentary said about that verse:  “Lust is the first step toward sin, and sin is the first step toward death.  It is one thing to see and admire an attractive person, but it is quite something else to look for the purpose of lusting in the heart … While sin in the heart is not as destructive as sin actually committed, it is the first step toward the act; and you never know where a polluted imagination will lead you.  Furthermore, God above looks down and sees both our actions and ‘the thoughts and intents of the heart’; and He will judge both.”

 

In the middle of incredible suffering, Job fights off lust, and entitlement.

 

Father, I hate it when I find myself falling for Satan’s lies, and entitlement is probably his biggest lie.  Please remind me that, like lust, it can be the first step toward sin.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford