Job 6:14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”
It is not often we journey into the book of Job for devotional study time, but today we are going to take a look at one of the verses from this book. In Job 6:14 we see Job expressing his disappointment in the support offered by his friends. He felt his friends should have shown him at least some pity and offered kind words to encourage him and help him cope with all of the loss he had experienced. But that is not what his friends did with him. Instead they judged and argued theology with him. Job compared their “support” to a dried up desert wadi (Job 6:15).
As friends, we should show kindness to one another. When our friends are suffering we should show even more kindness, as well as compassion to help come alongside them in their despair. A true friend will walk through your sorrow and despair with you. They won’t abandon you or leave you to trod the path alone.
In Job, the word we see as kindness is the Hebrew word chesed. It is often translated as kindness, steadfast love, or covenant loyalty. This sets the standard pretty high for friendship. But a true friend will do this and more. Failing to do so is failure as a friend.
He goes on to say that anyone who fails to be kind actually forsakes the fear of God. In this case fear is not an emotion or condition of being afraid but rather a deep, heartfelt reverence of God. We don’t think about our failure of supporting our friends as a lack of faith on our part.
The verse serves as a reminder to all of us that we need to love our friends and show them kindness through their life experiences, including during times of great need. We do not want to be dried up wadis in the desert when our friends desperately need a drink. We should want to be a well of life-giving water, ready to replenish our friends in their times of need.
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