Job 1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
Blackaby discusses that fact that Job's blamelessness did not necessarily mean "sinless". He writes, "It (blameless) means that in every situation you do the correct thing. If you sin against someone, you confess your sin and ask for forgiveness. If you sin against God, you repent and begin to obey His word." Being blameless is a sense of trying as much as possible, with God's help, to always do the right thing. When we fail to do so, do we blame others? Rationalize? Deflect? Or do we take responsibility, seek forgiveness, make amends and get back on track? A blameless and upright life is lived with each moment focused on pleasing God to the utmost of our ability.
The last five words of today's scripture jumped out at me. Job "feared God and shunned evil". I believe that today's church has softened the fear of God in order to fill pews and lessen criticism. While God is love and grace and mercy, He is also a jealous and powerful God. His wrath has been felt through the ages. He tolerates willful sin in a believer's life only for a season. Eventually His rod of correction will be felt. I cannot image the fear that Moses must have felt when the wind and storms passed him by on Mount Sinai. How the high priests must have trembled before entering the Holy of Holies each year. Yet each Sunday, countless Christians enter sanctuaries trading fish stories, job woes and movie reviews. Christian fellowship is vital to the health of a church, but where is the reverence, awe and fear?
Second the phrase "shunned evil" speaks volumes about how a Christian should live his life. Webster defines "shun" as "to avoid deliberately and especially habitually". Living a blameless life requires a deliberate and constant avoidance of sin. Whether those sins are our thoughts, words or actions, we are called to be ever diligent and intentional in our Christian walk. How many times do we give in and listen to that off-color joke at work because we are tired of being on the outside? What about the piece of gossip we pass along "just this one time"? "Shunning" is a full-time job when it comes to living a blameless life and CANNOT be done without the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
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