Job 31

At the beginning of the book of Job, God called Job "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Job 1:8) In this chapter, we finally get a description from Job about what that life looked like. Job defends his conduct, his way of life, and—although he doesn’t know that God has called it "blameless and upright"—he is sure that he is not guilty of any secret sin.

He begins this chapter by suggesting that God weigh him on some honest scales so "He may know my integrity." (vs 6) The Hebrew word translated integrity in that verse is tummah, and it comes from the word that means "completeness, fullness, wholeness." And, as Job continues his description in the rest of this chapter, we come to see exactly what integrity looks like and the things it includes:

A pure heart. (vs 1)
Clean hands. (vs 7)
Fairness to those who work for you. (vs 13)
Care for the poor and unfortunate. (vs 16-20)
Refusal to take advantage of others. (vs 21)
Refusal to take refuge in wealth. (vs 24)
Refusal to worship idols. (vs 26)
Inability to rejoice in the suffering of enemies. (vs 29)
Willingness to be honest with God. (vs 33)

Can you imagine what our world would look like if more people lived like this? This is a picture of wholeness. This is a picture of what we can and will become when we are friends with God. He makes us complete, full, whole. And—contrary to what you often hear today from the class warfare folks—He doesn’t even have to strip away wealth to accomplish it! God’s wholeness includes wealth in every area of life—spiritual wealth, physical wealth, relational wealth, and even financial wealth.

So, as you look over the list of qualities in Job’s blameless and upright life, take heart! This is a picture of the wholeness God wants to give you. He is able to do it, and He is willing to do it. He is anxious to make you complete in Him!