“They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow, they show no kindness. But God drags away the mighty by His power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life. He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but His eyes are on their ways.” NIV (Job 24:21-23)

The mention of the name Job is mostly associated with the man who triumphed against the odds of trials and probably unprecedented throes of agony and frustration among mortal men. The Bible describes him as a righteous man. In his shun of evil and in his uprightness, he gave an overview of acts of unkindness which take away the opportunity to express compassion to others. Let us consider what Job abhorred and had resolved to stand against.

“There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen. They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge. They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding. Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children. They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked. Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold. They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter. The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt. Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry. They crush olives among the terraces, and tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.” (Job 24:2-11)

What a chilling description of the experiences many people have to go through, even in our time! Quick to add, that these challenges fall into three groups of people.

First, there are those who are needy and sometimes are victimized by the privileged. Their toils and efforts to break from the unfortunate situations are thwarted sometimes by those lavishing in power and wealth. Job describes them as “the needy” and they indeed need our attention.

Next are those who happen to wield much influence and take advantage of the needy. Nobody stands in their way till they get what they want. They succeed at the expense of the needy with no sympathy towards them. But these are deeds God gave us a warning about (Proverbs 22:22).

The last set of people including Job are those who seek for justice and fairness and they pray to the Lord for His intervention for the helpless (Job 24:1). Also, they show direct concern by sharing and rescuing the needy as best as they can. It must not be a concern for Job alone, but a heartbeat to us all. Let us put a smile on a needy face (in our own small way) by lightening their burden today.

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