"After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth." (Job 3:1) There is a subtle difference between mourning and self-pity. Whereas mourning is an emotional response to loss, when we wallow in our mourning for too long, it can easily and subtly devolve into self-pity. Self-pity is the subtlest and I dare say the most egregious manifestation of pride that we can … [Read more...] about The Subtle Seduction of Pride
Job
The Comfort of Friends
"Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore … [Read more...] about The Comfort of Friends
Hope Through Suffering
"Then Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.'" (Job 1:9-10) Conditional … [Read more...] about Hope Through Suffering
The Faithfulness of a Father
"His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said 'It may be that my … [Read more...] about The Faithfulness of a Father
The Value of Character
"There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people in the east." (Job … [Read more...] about The Value of Character