ROOTED - Thursday, April 9, 2026

Job
16:1

1   Then Job answered and said:

2 “I have heard many such things;

    miserable comforters are you all.

Reflection:
Being a Bad Friend

Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro

Mostly
the book of Job represents a back-and-forth argument between several “friends”
of Job as to why he is going through the negative circumstances he is in. Job
believes he is righteous That is, Job believes that his circumstances are not
connected to his actions and the corresponding judgment of God. His friends,
however, make a 1+2=3 conclusion: “God, being righteous, blesses the righteous
and punishes sinners. Job is being punished and is, therefore, a sinner.” On
top of the fact that this argument is a non sequitur (for those who
remember studying logic), we as readers have seen the spiritual reality that
the friends did not see. We have peeked behind the curtain and seen the private
conversation between the Devil and God (chapters 1 and 2). We have the
advantage of knowing that Job is, in fact righteous.

What
makes these friends bad friends? Well, clearly having good theology and not
making God an equation is helpful. But clearly Job’s friends have accused Job
in the most heartless and careless ways. They have lacked the grace of true
friendship. They have cared more about casting judgment and blame, and less
about comfort for the hurting. “What miserable comforters you are,” is his
assessment of his friends. In chapter 12 he says, “no doubt wisdom will die
with you” (verse 2). His friends think they have the monopoly on wisdom and
good advice. So, his assessment of his “friends” is that they are prideful,
insensitive, and judgmental people. Truly, with friends like that, who needs
enemies? As I read Job, I am struck by what makes a good, biblical friend. We
can construct a definition from Job’s friend’s bad example. A good friend is
someone who 1) can give wise and true biblical counsel, 2) has a genuine
empathy for the hurting, and 3) has a humility of spirit, recognizing that they
are, themselves, not perfect.

Prayer

Lord,
help us to have the wisdom of the Word that is helpful to others, and a helpful
empathy for others such that we are genuinely good friends to others.