Job 3 – 4
Entering back into the most depressing book of the Bible, where a man is allowed to suffer to demonstrate his faith is strong. In chapter 3 Job “opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.” Verse 11 has him asking:
“Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire?
It is very depressing when you think about it that someone’s condition is so bad they decide it’s better to remain unborn or still born in this case. In Job’s case he has lost everything and is now suffering great pain, reversing the past to alter the future is something I am sure most of us would want.
How many “if I had only …” have you said? I know it’s a bunch for me! If I had only invested 10% right out of college our finances would be so much better heading into retirement. If I had only focused on my job and not my pride, I may have been in a better position professionally. If we had signed a 3 year lease and not a 5 we would have a judgment trying to be collected on today. If we had controlled our purchasing and not extending our credit to the max, we would not have creditors pounding on our door. If we had maintained problems before they got out of control, we would not be in crisis mode all the time needing new roofs, barns, paint, siding and windows all at the same time. Oh I can go on forever on this subject!!
The big difference between Job and me is I could have controlled the hole I am in, where Job could not. No Job can look at his condition and question if things would not have been better if he had never been born. As Job laments being born, he never questions or blames God for his problems. How about you? Would you blame God if everything was gone and you were very sick?
Chapter 4 is where his “friends” start chiming in on his conditions. First is Eliphaz, who starts to point out that Job is being punished for something. In verse 7 he comments:
“Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?
Eliphaz directly questions Job, insisting these inflictions are from sin. This is something that we all get sucked into, where our inflictions are because of God punishing us. I really think God is less active in our lives that way then what we believe. I mean consequences to ones actions are more in line with suffering than God getting his magnifying glass out! If you eat junk for decades, your heart will eventually fail. If you spend beyond your means, your bubble will eventually pop. You cannot stick your hand in the fire and say it is God punishing me for the pain!
No I believe God is active, but more on the positive side than negative. I think he has our backs and will help guide us along the way. We picked us a house in a deal that we eventually sold. The profits were the exact amount we needed to clear a debt that we had ignored for years and let pile up. Was that God doing some preemptive assistance? That “extra” home was just kind of thrown into the deal. I cannot say God was helping or we got lucky there, but again if I had done the right thing from the start it would not have been required and we would have enjoyed a buffer after selling the home. I think the universe and our world is acting as designed. The earthquakes are required to get the “purple mountains majesty”, they just happen and are not God smiting us for indiscretions. Sure he may from time to time, but 99% of the time sh&^ happens or we are digging ourselves out of our own pile.