We know from service workers and social media that there are some individuals who act as though the world should revolve around them. These are the people who seat themselves at a busy restaurant because they ‘don’t have time to wait’, ignoring the many others who were waiting long before them. Or they ask to have hotel patrons removed from the hotel pool so that they can use it for a private birthday party. And they demand to speak to a manager when they don’t get their way, insisting on compensation when they feel inconvenienced in the slightest. These individuals can be extremely self absorbed and entitled, centring their priorities and interests over everyone and everything else, fundamentally ignoring the consequences others face because of their behaviour.
And then there is the story of Job. This is the book of the Bible most frequently referenced when we want to talk about theodicy, the question of why bad things happen to good people. It is unlikely that Job was an actual, historical person. Still this story offers an important opportunity to reflect on the struggles we experience, how we respond when faced with challenges perceived and actual, and the impact these have on our relationships to God and others.
As the story goes, God sees Job as a good and righteous man. Satan challenges God to test Job’s faith through a series of calamities. Job loses his home, his livelihood, his family, and his health. He ends up on the dump heap of life scrapping sores from his body and covered in ashes and yet, Job remains resolute in his faith.
Enter Job’s friends who try to convince him that he is the cause of his own suffering. He must have sinned and deserves God’s wrath. He must repent and repair his relationship with God if he wishes for his life and wellbeing to improve. While Job remains resolute, defending himself and his faith, his situation makes it harder and harder not to turn inward and feel sorry for himself. This is a rather human response.
How often do we, when faced with challenges, whether these are perceived inconveniences or actual hardships, turn inward? To what extent can we become overly focused on what is happening to us and lament ‘why me’? When Job did so, the voice of God responded from the whirlwind:
‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
The passage is powerful and poetic. God is a Big Picture God. God knows more and sees more than any human being ever could. God knows we are all connected in profound ways to the wisdom of Creation and God knows how all the pieces fit together because God is the loving, generous Creator!
Thus, this passage challenges us to look beyond ourselves for truths that might otherwise remain hidden. For example, how often have we discovered blessings amid suffering, like knowing who is there for us no matter what? How often have compromises and sacrifices that may feel difficult for us in the moment, helped create spaces where flourishing happens? How often have we come to understand how the choices that contribute to our suffering can teach us about the impact we have on others and/or Creation?
This passage invites us to recognise there is more to life than individual concerns and challenges. Every moment and every individual is a piece of a far larger puzzle, and it is when we connect those pieces that we start to see the big picture, the one where God’s creative power and love continues to be at work nurturing Creation, providing gifts for transformation, and creating spaces where we can glimpse the wonder, grace, and love of God’s kin-dom!
Yes, challenges can be hard. Yes, there are times when suffering feels overwhelming. In Job we are reminded not to dwell too long in that suffering. In Job we are invited to consider what else might be possible, how else God might be working in our lives and in the world in ways that can transform us. In Job we are challenged to remember that God cares about us and this world in ways that are beyond anything we can ask or imagine.
Inspired by the Book of Job, may we resist temptations to be inwardly focused and perpetually seek what God has done and continues to do for us and for all Creation. Amen.