Daily Lesson for August 28, 2014

Today's Daily Lesson comes from these words:

"Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
If your children have sin against him,
he delivers them into the hand of their transgression.
If you will seek God
and plead with the Almighty for mercy,
if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will rouse himself for you
and restore your rightful habitation." *

These are words most of us can agree with.  God is just and upholds the right. Our children must be taught that what they wow they shall reap. God is full of compassion and mercy and will answer when prevailed upon by the pure of heart.  

These are words we can agree on -- except one thing; they were spoken by one of Job's friends.  And after losing home, and health, and children for no known reason, these words we can usually all agree on must have felt like three tons of salt spewing forth from his friend's mouth into Job's wounds.

Sometimes a truth we can usually all agree on isn't so true. Sometimes it's bromide. Sometimes it's acid rain. And sometimes its better just to keep silent presence than it is to say anything at all.

That's especially true when it comes to other people's suffering.

*Scripture is from Job 8:3-6