I just started reading the book of Job, and I got to thinking about how we humans would be if God directly rewarded good behaviour and punished bad.
I daresay that most of us would mostly behave very well. After all, if treating people with respect and doing good and never lying and never cheating on our spouses resulted in having riches and fame and fortune and the best looking and most pleasing spouse, we'd probably all do those good things.
But we'd do them for our benefit, not because we love God.
On the other hand, if we live a life of poverty, and have a horrible disease, and are treated like scum, and we still love God, then we really do love God, and are not simply faking it.
That's one of the main points in the book of Job. Satan accused Job of loving God because it had a high return on investment for Job. God proved Satan wrong; Job loved God because he loved God, not because he loved the rewards of "loving" God.
We often hear the phrase "he has the patience of Job"; I think the more desirable trait would be to have the love of God that Job had.
1 comment:
Hey Brother,
That's a good point about the more desirable trait would be to have the love of God that Job had instead of our emphases being on the patience of Job. Thanks for pointing that out.
I am inspired to start reading Job again with that idea in mind.
Lil" Sis
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