It Is Easier To Know What To Do Than To Actually Do It

“If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: I am afraid of all my sorrows…” Job 9:27, 28

Job’s friend, Bildad, had life all nailed down and clear, at least in his mind. He thought he knew all that needed to be done and how Job should handle his problems. But Job said that it wasn’t so easy for him. He was confused and even afraid of sorrow. “The problem is,” he told Bildad, “Sorrow and loss are tyrants and I can’t do enough to get away from them.” There was not enough food he could eat, there’s not enough drugs he could take, there’s not enough fun he could have…nothing took the pain away for more than a few minutes, at the most. When you are grieving, people will tell you that there’s a bright side, but you know that there is not; you have lost everything. You don’t know what you are going to do or how you are going to cope.

Even though I had five wonderful single daughters in my home, I found myself in need of companionship after Lynette’s death. The overwhelming majority of people seemed understanding of that. But I received my share of icy reactions and sermonizing like, “You’re married to Jesus now…you don’t need a wife.” I felt like saying, “That’s easy for you to say. That’s like a well fed man weighing 300 pounds, who’s eating a big piece of chicken telling a man who weighs 98 pounds, that hasn’t eaten for two weeks, not to be hungry!” It is a lot easier talking it than living it.

Bildad hadn’t lost his wealth. He hadn’t lost his family. He hadn’t lost his health. Merciless people have it all figured out – exactly how people should respond and what others should do. But I’m telling you, sorrow can get beyond any of our platitudes. The feeling of loss can get beyond anything you’ve ever thought or dreamed of, it gets down into your very core. It is a whole lot easier to talk than to walk. It’s kind of like the guy in Arkansas who got pulled over by the highway patrol officer and was quizzed, “You got any ID?” He replied, “‘Bout what?” Oh my! Bildad had no ID! And frankly, many people today don’t have a clue either.