"Could" and "Would"
- Justin Ray
- Jul 8, 2020
- 4 min read
Job 16
Then Job answered and said,
2 I have heard many such things:
Miserable comforters are ye all.
3 Shall vain words have an end?
Or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?
4 I also could speak as ye do:
If your soul were in my soul’s stead,
I could heap up words against you,
And shake mine head at you.
5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.
Job 16:1-5
I have come down on Job and his friends for their excessive talking quite a bit. I am going to shift from that because I do not want to vilify Job or his friends. Yes, there is blame to go around, but the real villain of the story is Satan. I do not want to keep pointing out faults and make someone think that they were all bad people. Talked too much, yes, Dug their heels in for their perspective, yes. Villains? No!
From here on out, I am going to find something good that was said and focus on that. I do not believe that I have misrepresented any of them, but I want to make sure that I continue to not misrepresent the heart of the text by focusing too much on negatives. Plus, as I have said, there has been some great truth stated.
As I read the text today, it really made me think about all that is going on in the world today. As is the case with everyone, I very much have an opinion about the issues that are plaguing our nation. Also, just like Job's friends, I can become all too vocal about my opinions. However, what I must do is step back and think about how I will respond.
Then Job answered and said,
2 I have heard many such things:
Miserable comforters are ye all.
3 Shall vain words have an end?
Or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?
There are a lot of vain words being spoken right now. People, in an effort to defend their side of the argument, are making some downright hateful remarks. It doesn't really matter which issue we are talking about. It could be "COVID", "Racism", "Politics", "Riots", "Injustice", or any other issue that people feel passionately about, but people are fighting with words. Just as their words alienated them from Job, our words alienate us from the world. In the process, we just might be destroying our witness.
Job asks his friends, "What is making you so bold that you must keep responding to me?" Yes, I paraphrased that, but it is an important paraphrase. Why do we feel the need to keep responding to people? I include myself in that. I am bad about arguing my point until either my opposition gives up, or I determine that they are too hardheaded to see my point. Doesn't that make me just as hardheaded as the other person?
I also could speak as ye do:
If your soul were in my soul’s stead,
I could heap up words against you,
And shake mine head at you.
5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.
No matter which side of these issues we are on, one thing is certain, people are hurting. Most of it is emotional. People feel wronged for one thing or another. Job feels wronged by God and wronged by his friends. He tells his friends, "I also could speak as ye do: If your soul were in my soul's stead". We would word it this way, "I could talk the way you are talking if you were in my shoes and I was in yours".
Isn't that true? How many times do we feel like it people just had our perspective they would understand? On the other hand, what if we had their perspective? I'm not saying that there is never a right side and a wrong side. There most certainly are on many issues. However, what is the purpose in our debating? Are we simply trying to win the argument without understand the other person? Is the debate worth alienating the other person over. There are some issues that are bigger than relationship and there are some relationships that are bigger than issues.
Job uses the words "could" and "would". "Could" implies that something is possible. "Would" implies action that will be taken by in individual under certain circumstances. Job is saying, "I could act like you, but I would not. I would do the opposite." I wonder how different things would be if people would stop doing Job's "could" and started doing his "would"?
In verse 5, Job tells his friends that he would strengthen them and relieve their grief with his words. What a thought! I know when I am down and out, that is what I really desire. I want someone to come beside me and strengthen me and relieve my grief. Words are powerful. The problem is that we often use them like Job's friends, rather than how Job said he would have handled the situation.
Father, help me to follow Job's "would" and not the "could". Help me to strengthen and relieve suffering with my words. Help me to know when to refrain from speaking and when to speak. May my words be pleasing to you.
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