I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Job 6-10.

While reading the Book of Job it is important to remember that in the end God confronts Job and condemns his three friends for their lack of compassion.  As a result, this is one of those parts of the Bible which most needs repeated reading to know where the person speaking is expressing a truth we should take to heart and where they are expressing a thought we should reject.  Keeping that in mind I believe that most of what Job says near the beginning of the Book expresses opinions we should value and only later in the Book does he begin to fall into self-pity.  When we suffer we are not sinning when we spend some time expressing how badly we feel.  It is OK to express our anguish.  Closely related to that, Job tells us that pointing out where someone is causing their suffering will hurt their feelings but has value.  However, telling someone that their suffering is because they have done wrong when we do not know anything they have done wrong is worse than useless.  Suffering is not evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the one suffering.