Do you please God and are you pleased with God in bad circumstances? Job 33-35

Job 34:9 (NASBStr)

“For he has said, ‘ It profits a man nothing

When he is pleased with God. ’

Job 34:9 (NIV1984)

For he says, ‘It profits a man nothing

when he tries to please God. ’

Job, in his determination to defend himself to his accusing friends, has, inadvertently come up with some bad theology.   (Just a note: False acquisitions are often met with even worse false arguments in defense.  It might be wiser when accused wrongly to not defend than to utter bad theology.)  In Job 9:22 and Job 21:7 Job makes a sad claim that the wicked live successful with no knowledge of God and there is no reason, therefore, for anyone to fear God.  Personally I don't think Job meant to utter the bad theology.   I do think that in his desire to make himself righteous to his self-righteous friends he made statements that would lead someone to believe that our belief in God was useless.   In Psalm 73, Aspah, the poet and song writer for David, does the same thing.  Note his words here:

Psalms 73:13 (NASBStr)

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

And washed my hands in innocence;

We need to always be careful, in our difficult circumstances, that we don't think there is NO PROFIT in following hard after God.   Job had looked at his circumstances and simply thought, since he had lost all, that it was no longer profitable to serve God.   Elihu, in this chapter of Job, corrects that thinking for Job and for us.   The NASV and the NIV look different because one seems to emphasize there is no profit if we try to please God (NIV) and the other if we are pleased WITH God (NASV).   I'm not sure the correct version but believe the theme is the same in each.  Both versions are stressing the point Elihu is making to Job.  He is saying, "Job, you are wrong to say a relationship with God does not matter (either in your trying to please Him or in His pleasure of you)."   There is profit in faith.   Hebrews 11:6 tells us we CAN please God if we do so in faith.  We need to be careful that our circumstances in life don't dissuade us from our taking pleasure in God and assuring He is pleased with us.