We sometimes come across persons who seem to be good to us or treat us well, and some of such persons become our friends. We treat them as friends but do such persons really treat us as friends without any terms or conditions, or do they treat us as friends only when it benefits them or is convenient to them? Such friends are known as fair-weathered friends, who only become friends when times are good, and when times are not so good, they may abandon us, or even persecute or betray us.
In today's reading, we come across examples of fair-weathered friends. Job’s friends had initially come to console him but they ended up telling him that he was being punished by God for doing wrong. Instead of being consoled by his friends, his friends persecuted him. When faced with such friends, what did Job do? Job responded to them by these words: "I know that my vindicator lives." Even though there seemed to be no sign that God cared for Job, yet Job had a spirit of abandonment to God, and had absolute confidence and trust in God.
What about us? When we are faced with difficulties or even persecutions in our lives as Christians, would we be willing to follow Job's example in having a spirit of abandonment to God, letting God take control? Would we allow such friends to influence us and cause us to ruin our relationship with God, or like Job would we persevere and trust in His providence? May we continue to do God's will with zeal and trust, and glorify Him with our efforts and with our lives.
