I'm reading through the book of Job and this morning I was surprised (again!) at how much truth Job's three dense friends were giving. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar flow like a river of doctrine! Their theology rings with truth, suppored by other passages of Scripture! You could teach years of Bible study series on these three comrades words!

But here's what's so strange: they totally misapply it. They embrace retribution theology: if something bad happens to you (stubbed toe, pay cut, splitting headach) then it must be for something you did wrong. Not necessarily. In fact, Job's entire life disproves that theory (yes, we do have an advantage over Job's friends because we got to see the scene up in heaven!). God let Job suffer because of his faithfulness. He wouldn't have been bragging on Job to Satan if Job was living the carnal life of some of the early Christians in Paul's church plant in Corinth.

But here's what I took home: we can have truckloads of truth, but totally misapply it. This means we must ask God for wisdom (James 1:5), and strive to apply and live the truth we learn, lest we get puffed up, proud, and start casting judgments on people, totally oblivious to the situation.