Under the Radar

If I am wicked, woe to me!  But if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.  Job 10:15a  NASB

Dare not – Doesn’t Job teach us that it’s better not to be too religious?  After all, if Job were just an ordinary person like us, God would not have pointed him out.  He wouldn’t have gone through all this misery.  He’d just live his life under the radar, without divine interference.  My guess is that most of us would rather live peacefully alone, without all that divine attention because when we do lift up our heads, we often get them chopped off.

Doesn’t Job express the same feeling?  If I sin, well then, okay.  I’m guilty and deserve to be punished.  Of course, Christianity has thoroughly replaced this idea with blanket forgiveness.  God is so good that He would never think of doing anything bad, and so He forgives everything, even those things we have yet to do.  Doesn’t it say, “for He so loved the world”?  Then how could He punish it—and us?  Nope!  The Santa Claus God is always smiling.  It’s that bad boy Satan who causes all the ruckus.

And that’s why it’s better not to get too righteous.  Satan leaves the ordinary people alone.  He knows we all sin.  We struggle.  We grieve.  We feel remorse.  And we sin some more.  He doesn’t pay any attention to those who are caught in the web of spiritual angst.  So, if you want a relatively peaceful life, just don’t make any serious religious commitments.  The lion isn’t prowling around looking for willing sacrifices.  He wants resisting prey.  Job tells us the real story about living.  Stay low!

“I dare not”—in Hebrew לֹֽא־אֶשָּׂ֣א (not I raise).  The strong negation plus the verb nāśāʾ.  Interestingly, the same verb used to describe lifting away guilt.  Perhaps we would have seen that had the translation been “I not lift” (the “dare” is added to capture the emphasis).  “I will not lift my head” seems to be a statement about not sticking up above the crowd.  Not being noticed.  But perhaps the whole sentence says something else.  “If I am wicked”—I am the one responsible for that situation.  I did it to myself.  Therefore, I rightly deserve what’s coming.  I have imposed punishment upon myself.  But “if I am righteous” that didn’t happen because I earned it.  Righteousness isn’t simply religious compliance.  It is that, but it is more than that.  It is a gift of grace.  “If I am righteous” God has already acted on my behalf.  That’s what it means to be righteous.  Not only do I willingly submit to His authority and follow His directions, I must also be the beneficiary of His benevolence.  He grants righteousness.  Therefore, I am in no position to lift myself up.  I don’t keep my head down because I want to stay under the radar.  I keep my head down because I am bowing to His graciousness toward me.  It is an act of gratitude, not an attempt to avoid recognition.  Righteousness always lifts me above the radar.

So, here’s the choice.  Stay low.  Slightly sinful.  Or—accept God’s benevolence and be lifted up.  Become noticed by God.  There really isn’t any middle ground.  Righteousness is recognition and recognition brings repercussions.

Topical Index: nāśāʾ, lift up, righteousness, Job 10:15a