Earthly vs. Heavenly Harm

Scripture: Elihu spoke again and said:

"Do you think this is right,
    that you say, ‘My righteousness is before God’?

For you said, ‘What advantage will it be to me?
    What profit will I have if I am cleansed from my sin?’

I will answer you,
    and your companions with you.
Look unto the heavens and see,
    and behold the clouds that are higher than you.
If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?
    Or if your transgressions are multiplied, what does it do to Him?
If you are righteous, what does it give Him?
    Or what does He receive from your hand?
Your wickedness may hurt a man like you,
    and your righteousness may profit a son of man.

Job 35:1-8

Observation: In his lecture of Job, Elihu proceeds down an interesting path with regards to the question of Job's righteousness. Over and over, Job's other friends have declared Job must have sinned to receive punishment, Job has responded that he is righteous, and the debate devolved into guesswork about sin. Elihu presents a new tact, effectively stating ... Job better quit being defensive, because the only person he is hurting is himself.

Elihu argues that Job's sin is effectively meaningless to God's wellbeing. God cares about sin, but God is so grand, so powerful, so mighty, that Job's actions are effectively meaningless to him. God cannot receive riches from Job's righteousness, and he cannot be harmed by Job's wickedness. Therefore, to answer the question about if/how Job can be harmed by his sins or rewarded for his righteousness, Elihu basically says ... since there is no harm or reward for God in Job's actions, and since God clearly cares about Job's actions enough to act in Job's life, therefore it must be Job who is impacted by his actions. It doesn't matter that Job doesn't understand the cause-and-effect of righteous living versus judgement and reward. However, that cause-and-effect clearly exists, because God isn't doing any of this for his own satisfaction.

Application: There is a version of truth in Elihu's argument. God is so great and so powerful, that nothing I do can really harm him. And yet he loves me so much that he weeps when I do things wrong, actively influences my life, has provided instructions to live by, and sacrificed his son as a placeholder for my failings and death.

In other words, from an bodily perspective, it is true that my sins cannot harm God, and my righteousness does not reward God. However, from the perspective of God's great love, the opposite is true.

When I sin, I bring harm upon my earthly life, and also wound God's heart. When I observe God's advice, I may not always directly benefit on earth, but I please my heavenly dad. These two statements better start being incentives in my daily walk.

Prayer: Lord, I am perplexed by the book of Job, as billions of people over thousands of years have been as well. I am unsure of many of the lessons. However, I am sure of your love, and that your law is meant for good in my life. I seek to please you, and while I know I fail many times every day, I hope I can make you smile occasionally. Thank you for your love. Amen.