“Be not wise in your own conceits.” (Romans 12:16)
People are quick to judge. If things aren’t working out too well with you, it doesn’t take them too long to come up with a reason for it. The mind naturally gravitates to “why.” We don’t like to “be in the dark” about anything. Ignorance makes us uncomfortable.
The wheels got to working real fast with Job’s friends as they looked upon his miserable condition. Aha! They figured the whole thing out! How smart they thought they were. But they couldn’t have been more off target.
We are called to be “quick to hear,” not quick to speak. To bridle our tongue we must keep our thoughts in check. It is no sin to say, “I don’t know.” The humble acknowledge the limits of their power and their knowledge.
While the devil had his purposes for afflicting Job; God ultimately brought His servant into this humbled condition, where he acknowledged: “… I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.” (Job 42:2) Job’s friends would have been wise to admit the same.