dannywoodall500@hotmail.com

Drugstore cowboys are people who want to be cowboys, but never get around to doing the hard work that cowboys have to do. Instead they sit in the local drugstore sipping coke, looking fancy in their hats, shiny boots, and belt buckles which are larger than their wallets. They try to impress the ladies, but if a rancher needs help cleaning out the stalls, they disappear quicker than Houndi. They drive trucks instead of riding horses and they can tell you how it all should be done.

In the Bible we read where Job had three friends, which were a lot like Coke-Cola Christians. His three friends were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, they came to visit Job when they heard of his troubles. Much like Drugstore Cowboys, they were likeable people, and they knew a lot. Job’s three friends were really concerned about him. When they saw how serious his condition was, they wept. Job’s friends were correct in many of their statements, but they were wrong in their assumptions. For them it was plain and simple, Job had sinned and God had punished him.

They were unaware of the struggle between God and Satan in Job’s life. When they confronted Job, he grew angry at their conclusion. The more Job became upset, the more his friends were convinced of their answers. Sometimes we make the same mistake that Job’s friends made. We try to solve all of life’s problems with little cliques, as if life problems all neatly fall into some type of chart.

When we start to give advice to someone, the first step is to realize that we do not have all of the answers. Sometimes the best we can do is listen and pray for the person we are trying to help. Often a person needs someone just to listen to them, and it is okay for them to get upset about their situation.

Job’s friends made matters worse, by insisting that he had sinned. So when someone needs our help remember to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger and quick to pray. Often the struggles we go through helps us to give advice to others who will face the same struggles. Wisdom is not found in the fancy pep talks of today’s self-proclaimed gurus, but on the rough roads of life. When we go down the rough roads of life and follow the biblical principles listed above we will avoid being just a Coke-Cola Christian, and become the real thing.

Copyright 2004 by Danny Woodall