Sweeping Judgments
by Doy Moyer
I am sometimes reminded how hurtful judgments and the words used to express them can be. I have been guilty of being deaf to the problems of others. We all have a right to our convictions and a right to express those convictions, but when we make sweeping generalizations that show little compassion or appreciation for nuanced conclusions, we may find ourselves defending the indefensible. This is not the way of God or His Truth.
Job’s friends found themselves in such a position. They had strong reasons for their convictions. After all, sin does cause suffering, and they were not entirely wrong. Much of what they said was correct. Their arguments were expressed well and seemed to have broad support. However, they were wrong in certain details, and their lack of compassion for Job’s situation only increased Job’s suffering. When we judge based on outward appearances and fail to grant that there may be more going on than meets the eye, we will do far more harm than good when we press our conclusions. Ignorance is still ignorance even when stated with full confidence that we have the truth.
Their approach was a problem because they didn’t have the full picture of Job’s suffering. They made unwarranted assumptions, and they pressed those assumptions as truth when, in reality, they were clueless (see Job 38:1-2). They piled on and increased the emotional damage Job was suffering because they knew they were telling the truth, and Job needed to repent. The case was clear-cut. Or was it?
Suffering is complex. We suffer physically and mentally for many reasons, so reducing it down to one cause without granting nuance and confessing that we don’t always know why things happen will not fare well for anyone. No doubt the friends meant well, but their lack of mercy for the sake of what they knew was true became their downfall. Consequently, they knew neither truth nor compassion.
Imagine Job’s frustration at the suggestion that he just needed to repent and everything would be better (Job 8:1-7). Today, we might hear similar types of admonitions. All you need is more faith. You just need to pray more. Mental and emotional issues, depression, and anxiety are sometimes reduced to faith problems rather than recognizing physical nuances and our own ignorance of how brains function.
Let’s be clear. We can suffer emotionally and mentally because of sin. Perhaps we do need to pray more (I do). Perhaps our sins are creating emotional pain, and repentance is necessary. Let’s not dismiss that possibility! Affliction can lead us to seek God more deeply (cf. Psalms 119:67, 71). We are to turn our anxieties over to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7; I Peter 5:7). We need to seek God with every fiber of our being, yet, like Job’s friends, it is possible that while we know a solution to the problem of suffering, we might be making unwarranted assumptions and sweeping generalizations that are based in ignorance. There can be more going on than what we can see or know.
When Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake (I Timothy 5:23), he wasn’t implying that Timothy’s faith needed to be more robust or that Timothy should have prayed more. Nor was he implying that if Timothy felt better by taking “medicine” for his infirmities, then somehow that would show a lack of trust in God. Let’s not create a faulty dilemma of “either God or medical treatment.” God can use medical advances to help treat those who need it, and we can still recognize this as God’s hand. It all belongs to Him.
Is it possible to be overly reliant on medical treatment? Yes, and we do need to be careful that our default isn’t just running to pills or putting ourselves in a position that leads down a path of addiction and heartache. Like anything else, we can abuse what would otherwise be a blessing. But that doesn’t negate the blessing when properly used!
Who am I to judge a brother or sister over matters I have no real knowledge of? I can see what Scripture teaches and would never want to compromise that. I don’t know the internal and individual struggles that people go through, and for which they may need more help than just being told to be more spiritual. Maybe people need to correct some sins in their lives, but I will also take them at their word when they say that the issues they face are not about a lack of faith, biblical meditation, or prayer. While we always want to encourage these practices wholeheartedly, we don’t want to become like Job’s friends and make unwarranted assumptions about the spiritual condition of those who struggle. When we do the latter, we heap pain upon pain, and we become the ones who need to repent. As God said of the friends, “you have not spoken of me what is right…” (Job 42:7).
Love believes when our brothers and sisters confess deeper struggles. Love supports and seeks to strengthen. Love recognizes that “judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy” and that “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). Let us, then, be careful and wise, always seeking God in His word and thankful for what He has made available for blessings in this corrupted world. Our goal is to glorify God in whatever we do.
