“Seize from every moment its unique novelty, and do not prepare your joy.” ANDRE GIDE



Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” JOB 42:1-2 NASB



I just finished reading the book of Job with new eyes. In times past when I read Job I thought so much of it to be profound statements from wise men of the times. This time I took in consideration the attitude of those speaking before I listened to the words. What a difference someone’s words make when we know where they come from. Job had four friends that must have cared dearly for him, otherwise they would not have spent so much time with him in his suffering. Job had lost all possessions, all income, all his children, and only had a wife that was difficult to get along with. Sounds like my life and many other alcoholics that I have known. Of course our afflictions were brought on, by our own making. Job’s friends meant well and they said many things that were true, but their attitudes were ones of blame and they tried to instill guilt and shame into Job’s suffering, causing even more emotional pain upon the man. Friends are like that at times, we mean well but our words come out wrong and sharp. This may be because we are always looking for something or someone to blame for our troubles and the troubles of the world. We’re looking out past our nose for the source of troubles and we think that six inches the other direction lays the solution, in the mind. What we need to do is drop down from the nose about fifteen inches and turn inward to the spiritual heart, the center of our being, and work from there. Job’s friends all said wonderful words of wisdom, but the attitude was wrong. It is like baking a beautiful cake and using salt instead of sugar. It might look good, but it won’t taste good at all. Attitude is everything whether we are looking out or looking in. My pastor uses an illustration of flying airplanes for this. He say that, “Your altitude is determined by your attitude.” In flying they call the angle the plane is in reference to the earth the attitude. With attitude the plane climbs or descends, and so it is in our lives, our attitude determines if we climb or descend. I have found that Job was not blameless in his situation either. His attitude was bringing him down also. He discloses at the first that his fear was a factor, and later I saw the pride of Job shine through in his words. You may not see this, and I may be wrong. I am open to be corrected. Job’s answers and the change needed in his life came about only after it was all said and done, and he repented. It doesn’t say specifically what he repented or turned from, but I think some of it must have been his attitude. This change of attitude was just a start, later Job prayed for his friends. How difficult it must be to pray for those close to us who have come against us meaning well. Anyway, I don’t really know where this was headed today, but I am grateful for the lessons I am learning about attitudes. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE



“God loves to look at us, and loves it when we will look back at Him. Even when we try to run away from our troubles…..God will find us, bless us, even when we feel most alone, unsure…….. God will find a way to let us know that He is with us in this place, wherever we are.” KATHLEEN NORRIS



We “constructively criticized” someone who needed it, when our real motive was to win a useless argument. Or, the person concerned not being present, we thought we were helping others to understand him, when in actuality our true motive was to feel superior by pulling him down. We sometimes hurt those we love because they need to be “taught a lesson,” when we really want to punish. We were depressed and complained we felt bad, when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy and attention. This odd trait of mind and emotion, this perverse wish to hide a bad motive underneath a good one, permeates human affairs from top to bottom.

BILL W. …………….. A.A. 12X12 page 94