How can we become PROFITABLE to GOD and OTHERS?
May 31
Bible Reading: Job Chapters 22-24
How can we become PROFITABLE to GOD and OTHERS?
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
"Can a man be profitable to God, though he who is wise may be profitable
to himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it
gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?" (Job 22:1-3)
Eliphaz
begins the third cycle of speeches (22:1–27:23) by taking a new approach and asking
whether Job’s righteousness did God any good (v. 2; 21:15). His questions are
designed to show that God doesn’t need Job or anything he has or does,
including his blameless ways. He begins with the assumption that wickedness
brings only God’s judgment (vv. 1–5) and compiles a catalog of sins of which
Job must be guilty including, taking wrongful pledges from the poor, refusing
water to the weary, bread to the hungry, taking land by force, and oppressing
widows and orphans (vv. 6–20). That, according to Eliphaz, accounts for Job’s
present dilemma. The facts, however, were otherwise; Job had shown great social
consciousness and had been generous in his charity.
When Eliphaz
asked Job if he was profitable to God, we need to understand that we should be
profitable to God and others. There are four
essential things that are profitable for us in order to become profitable
to God and other people:
- Word of God: "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2
Timothy 3:16).
- Godliness: "For
bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness
is profitable for all things, having
promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (1
Timothy 4:8)
- Wisdom: "Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and
profitable to those who see the
sun" (Ecclesiastes 7:11)
- Good Works: "This
is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that
those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men" (Titus 3:8)
John Mark
accompanied Barnabas and Paul during their first missionary journey (Acts
12:25), but for some reason returned home to Jerusalem after they had traveled
as far as Perga (Acts 13:13). This later caused a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. Paul refused to take
Mark with him on another missionary journey, while Barnabas defended his young
cousin (Acts 15:36-40). They did however reconcile at a later time because Mark
was with Paul in his first imprisonment at Rome (Colossians 4:10, Philemon
1:24). Towards the end of his life, Paul acknowledges that John Mark was useful (profitable) to him in his
ministry (2 Timothy 4:11b).
So, how can we become profitable to God and others who come under our influence? By serving God faithfully and being the light and salt in our generation. Let us become “channels of blessings” to others as God’s love is poured out from our lives to others around us!
