The Job 31 Exam

If I was to mention to you a famous Chapter 31 in the Bible the first one to come to your mind would probably be Proverbs. We have all likely heard of the Proverbs 31 woman (I'm partial, I think my wife is pretty close). But my daily reading brought me to another amazing chapter 31 and it's also in the Old Testament. It's from the book of Job.

This chapter is all about Job reexaming his life in case there is anything that is causing all the grief and hardships that have fallen upon him. A better term would be an inventory of his life. In my business we have to take a personal count of our inventory to see what we really have. Maybe I'm overstocked in motors, but short in capacitors and contactors. Job was doing the same thing. He was checking to see if he had the right balance in his life.

The first thing he checked was his personal life. The first 12 verses Job is checking himself to see how he is doing in the arena of lust, lying and adultery. “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman." Job 31:1. “Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone? Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity." Job 31:5-6.

Now the whole area of lusting is usually associated with men, but there are other areas we can examine ourselves to see if God is holding back a blessing in my life because I'm behaving in a way that is outside of His will for my life. We could add to the list how we handle money to coveting to sexual sin to the words we use.

The second item in Job's personal inventory was his public life. This is an area of our life that we want to line up with our personal side. “If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me, how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me? For God created both me and my servants. He created us both in the womb." Job 31:13-15.

I can substitute servant for employee and I can know that God is going to judge me on how well I treat my employees. I know in God's eyes we're all the same, I'm not any better. Job said check, but maybe we're a little off the mark.

The third inventory item for Job was looking at his spiritual life. He spent 16 verses looking at how he handled money, his worship, was he taking revenge on any enemies and the purity of his motives. “Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do, concealing my guilt in my heart? Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?" Job 31:33-34.

Am I trying to look good on the outside going to church raising my hands in worship and serving, but secretly harboring unforgiveness in my heart? Am I preaching Jesus on Sunday's, but cursing slow drivers on Monday's. This is the proverbial "I can talk the talk, but am I walking the walk?"

Job came through his personal inventory looking pretty good. He felt God wasn't punishing him for any weakness in these areas. Because we live unders God's grace through faith I don't believe that the bad things that happen to us are a punishment from God. But they can be a consequence for any bad choices or sin that might be lingering in our lives.

I know some stuff that went down last year at work was due to consequences from actions years ago, but it was God's timing for us to pay the piper now. My spiritual mentor has always encouraged a personal retreat. A time where we get away and get refreshed, a self-examination of our lives to see that we are absolutely right with God. She has always encouraged getting away from the home for a time of prayer and time in the Word, but I have to admit my schedule hasn't allowed me to do that yet.

Maybe a weekend isn't the cards, but how about some quiet time away at the park or wherever your favorite spot might be. I have a pastor friend who used to hang out in the lobby of the Marriott Desert Springs to get away. Grab you're Bible and look for an encounter with the Lord and ask Him to reveal anything that's in your life that might be holding you back. Maybe you're trying to carry too much load and the Lord is asking you to surrender it to Him.

Now we all know that women have to perform self-exams to maintain their physical health, but this could be the kind of spiritual self-exam that could save the life of men and women.

Blessings to you all and thank you for your encouragement. You are so loved and appreciated by me.