In today's first reading, Job 19: 21-27, Job speaks of being hounded by his friends "as though [they] were divine." He complains that they "insatiably prey upon" him! How easy it is to pontificate against those whose behaviors we abhor and who seem to "insatiably prey upon" us! Are we not then acting as though we were God?
It is easy to focus on the negative aspects of life, and there are many, and to get stuck on complaining about this or that or the other thing that disturbs our ego self. I caught myself doing just that today and realized later, in prayer, that, instead of seeking counsel from the Holy Spirit, I was focusing on an ego issue important to the prideful part of the self and about which another was hounding me.
Job did not cling to the words of those hounding him or complaining about him. No, he turned his focus to God and said to his critics: "[A]s for me, I know that my Vindicator lives..." If, like Job, you and I focused on God when things get rough around us, for whatever reason, we certainly would not be "crying" about issues that naturally disturb the ego self. May the Lord grant us the graces needed to redirect our thoughts to things of the Spirit self.
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