No one asked him to do it, no one inquired of him, but Elihu took it upon himself to educate Job and his three friends, and he had nothing good to say about any of them. Job had offended his sensibilities by declaring his innocence; the three friends had offended him by being unable to challenge Job’s assertions; and, of all the men present, he thought himself the sole possessor of wisdom and understanding.
With the advent
of modern technology, it has become far easier to highlight one’s ignorance and
put it on full display for all to see, and the chorus of those screeching
“Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion” has become the soundtrack of
life, ever present in the background, like the buzzing of a hornet or the
stridulation of a grasshopper. You try to tune them out, even succeed on the
good days, but more often than not they get so loud as to become impossible to
ignore, a cacophony of noise with no underlying substance.
The first impulse
is to add our own noise to the chorus, to speak our mind, to have our say, to
throw our two cents in to a growing mountain of pennies. Surely, if the guy
with the squeegee, offering to clean your windshield for some spare change, has
an opinion on geopolitics and global affairs, you should have one too; at least
you own a car, and technically, delivering DoorDash to lazy people is a job, so
you have one of those too. Yep, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll give him a piece of
my mind and tell him what I think because I have just as much right to an
opinion as he does to his, and my opinion is likely the correct one anyway.
If we surrender
to that first impulse, all that occurs is that our voice is added to the noise,
and we find ourselves trying to talk over others, each holding to their
position, becoming ever more impatient, erratic, and vitriolic. Soon enough,
it’s no longer about the position, but about the person, and the ad hominem
attacks come in hot and heavy, focusing on the individual rather than their
premise, because if the message is bulletproof, the messenger likely isn’t.
I’ve found that
the wisest thing to do in such situations is refuse to participate entirely.
People who’ve made up their minds about one thing or another are rarely willing
to hear dissenting opinions, or allow for their minds to be changed on the
matter. If I’m asked my opinion, I will give it, but beyond that, I refuse to
engage in a war of words that will likely produce nothing but bitterness and
animosity.
If the matter is
of a biblical nature, then all I can do is point to what Scripture says,
because I am subordinate to it, and not it to me. If it’s a trivial matter, we
all have our preferences and will not judge another for failing to tuck in
their shirt or wear khakis to the park when it’s blistering hot outside. Do I
think that wearing knee-high socks with open-toe sandals is a good idea? No,
but it will neither bring one closer nor distance them from Jesus, so why
should it matter to me?
Job 32:15-22,
“They are dismayed and answer no more; words escape them. And I have waited,
because they did not speak, because they stood still and answered no more. I
also will answer my part, I too will declare my opinion. For I am full of
words; the spirit within me compels me. Indeed my belly is like wine that has
no vent; it is ready to burst like new wineskins. I will speak, that I may find
relief; I must open my lips and answer. Let me not, I pray, show partiality to
anyone; nor let me flatter any man. For I do not know how to flatter, else my
Maker would soon take me away.”
For well over
half of the book of Job, no one even knew Elihu was present or that he even
existed. His name had not been brought up, he had not been included in the
conversation, none of what was said pertained to him, yet he was full of words,
and the spirit within him compelled him to speak. Which spirit, I wonder?
This wasn’t about
giving an arbitrary opinion on the weather; it wasn’t as though he was asked to
chime in, but Elihu took it upon himself to speak; otherwise, he would burst.
In his mind, what he had to say mattered so much that had he kept silent, he
would find no relief.
If you’ve ever
had someone jump in mid-conversation without understanding the context or
knowing what was said before they decided to give their hot take, you know what
Job and his three friends felt like. I’m sure you’re right, and Fords are
unreliable, but the conversation wasn’t about cars. You misheard “afford” and
thought it was “Ford”, and now we’re onto a whole new topic when the initial
conversation centered around how no one could afford health insurance anymore.
There is wisdom
in the admonition that one ought to be slow to speak and quick to listen.
Granted, Elihu had been listening to the back and forth between Job and his friends,
but he had no reason for injecting himself into the conversation save for
hubris and the elevated opinion he had of himself and his opinion.
He knew what he
was going to say before he said it, and likewise knew it would not land well,
so he couched his words in a self-serving, “I’m just being honest, not looking
to flatter, or show partiality” preface before launching into his diatribe. Even
giving him the benefit of the doubt, believing him at his word that his desire
was not to show partiality to any one individual over the other, the question
remains: why say anything at all? It’s not as though Job asked him to jump into
the conversation, nor had his three friends enquired of his opinion or asked
for his aid in convincing Job that his uprightness was an illusion. Even so, in
Elihu’s mind it was either speak, or burst like a new wineskin, and there was
no in between.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
Posted on 3 June 2026 | 11:34 am
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