Ah, Youth

Readings:

Job 32

Job 33

Job 34

Job 32:6-10 NLT
Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said, “I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think. I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age.’ But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent. Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice. So listen to me, and let me tell you what I think.

I’m reminded of the snowman from the stop motion Christmas classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” when he replied “Ah youth” after Rudolph’s friend Fireball talks eagerly about showing off in front of the does at the reindeer games.

I wonder how often in my youth,  I waited for the opportunity to prove my teachers wrong — to puff my chest and show off my intelligence — to have the “last word”.

It isn’t lost on me that Job had just before this described how people used to listen when he spoke,  and here this young one is coming right behind him expecting to speak last and leave everyone quiet.

Job 29:21-23 NLT
“Everyone listened to my advice. They were silent as they waited for me to speak. And after I spoke, they had nothing to add, for my counsel satisfied them. They longed for me to speak as people long for rain. They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.

But in just a few chapters when this young Elihu finishes his rant,  we will see who has the last word. And it won’t be Elihu, or Job, or Job’s friends.  It will be who always has the final word in such things,  God.

Too often in life, I want to tell what I think. And even after plenty of correction and discipline from the Lord on this matter,  it can still prove to be a challenge. It doesn’t matter what I think; it matters what His Word says.

I’ll say that again

It doesn’t matter what I think; it matters what His Word says.