Why doesn’t the Lord Level with Job? IV

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Gordon Grose

In answer to this question, last week I invited Rob Sutherland to explain his view. I commend what he wrote for your reflection. I’ve also given the question some thought.

In addition to the issue of self-motivated worship (including material blessings) vs. selfless worship for the sake of the Other, I look at the issue as one of faith vs. sight. Job’s testing without benefit of knowing the conversation in heaven reflects the Lord’s need for his servants to walk by faith. Had Job known, he would then simply walk by sight. That would have been no test at all.

Even if the Lord revealed the nature of the test at the end, meeting the Lord as the response to Job’s lawsuit (though not at the time or in the manner he expected) would not have been enough. The Lord Himself would not have been enough. Instead, Job would have known.

Like Job, when we’re overwhelmed with suffering, we long to know the reason. Instead, we go on, serve the Lord faithfully, and love Him for Himself (so Sutherland). In the process, we also learn to live with doubt, ambiguity, and uncertainty. One person responded to this question by recalling Jesus’ command to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” That’s our responsibility.

Like Job, we walk by faith, not by sight.

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Why Doesn’t the Lord Level with Job? III (Guest Blog)

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Gordon Grose

Why doesn’t God tell Job the reason for his suffering?

In the book, Satan puts God on trial (Job 1:9-11). Job is a sinner, Satan says. Job may intend good, but for selfish reasons. Therein lies his motive and his sin. Job does love God, but only for what he can get from him: the good life now, and eternal life later. That is not true love, not selfless love; it is manipulation. And You, God, missed that. You should get down from Your throne. Since selfishness makes a meaningful relationship between God and man impossible both in this life or the next, You should allow for the destruction of all mankind .

God defends himself by authorizing the creation of the world in which we find ourselves, a world filled with undeserved evil and unremitted suffering (1:13-19; 2:7-8). For, if we knew for certain that God exists and that he rewards those who serve him, we couldn’t settle the question of whether righteousness exists separate from reward.

Therefore, God cannot tell Job or us the reason for the evil that befalls him or us. That would give Job or us a reason or a motive to love God selfishly.

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We welcome Rob Sutherland, Counsellor at Law, to write this guest blog. His answer to this difficult question in his book, Putting God on Trial, 2004, deals with this question from a unique perspective. We’re grateful to him for sharing his thoughts with us.

What do you think?

 

 

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Why Doesn’t the Lord Level with Job (and us)? II

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Gordon Grose

If Job only knew he was undergoing his extreme trials to test his love for the Lord, he would… what? Hang on longer? Protest less forcefully? Would his story be any more compelling? Would Job’s knowing the reason compromise the separation between events in Heaven and on Earth?

Known only to us readers, Job’s wife communicates Heaven’s debate. In one sharp question, for example, she unwittingly delivers the Lord’s assessment. “He still keeps his integrity,” the Lord tells the Adversary (2:3 Heb. hassatan). “Do you still maintain your integrity?” she asks Job (2:9a). Then, in one double-barreled command she also transmits the Adversary’s prediction: “Lay a hand on his bones and flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face” (2:5). “Curse God and Die,” she commands Job (2:9b). There is communication between Heaven and Earth, so a little more at the beginning would hardly hurt.

What about at the end? Couldn’t the Lord have leveled with Job then. Wouldn’t that  relieve his troubled mind? Help him sleep? Encourage us all to hang in there with trusting the Lord when we’re under severe duress? Instead, the Lord presents Job with imponderables, asking him to ponder. He does affirm Job “spoke the truth about Me,” but about the test, not a word.

Why do you think the Lord never levels with Job? Why doesn’t he with us?

Next week Rob Sutherland, Counsellor at Law,  writes a guest blog. His book, Putting God on Trial, 2004, deals with this question from a unique perspective.

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Why Doesn’t the Lord Level With Job?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Gordon Grose

Poor Job! Everyone turns against him: friends, wife, and even the Lord. At least it seems that way. At the town dump he struggles a long time with doubt about God’s presence, doubt about himself (what had he done to deserve this?), and doubt about whether or not his life is worth living. It wasn’t fair!

How like us. Life can bring such devastation, we can’t even talk about it.  Like Job for seven days and nights of silence,  veterans I’ve known refuse to talk about their combat experience. Who would understand? Would you? Would I? They’re probably right. We couldn’t appreciate the depth of despair such experiences force on them.

If only God would level with Job–and with us. Why do we have to go through such misery? Why do we have to endure such doubt, such isolation from those we love, and such alienation from the God we need? Job’s experience portrays about the worst series of disasters to befall a person: loss of possessions, employees, children, health, and wife’s support. And without any word of explanation. What does it mean?

In the absence of any clear explanation (even the Lord’s speech doesn’t give Job the answer he wants) we also must piece together our experience to make sense of it for ourselves.

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We Know What Job Doesn’t

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Gordon Grose

As I read the book of Job, like many people I’m struck with how much Job remains in the dark about his “test.” One scholar interprets Job’s ignorance (and our knowing) as the way the Hebrew author communicates God’s omniscience. Because we are creatures of limited knowledge, we can’t understand how God knows everything. (We don’t even know what we don’t know!)

In Job’s case, however, we know what he doesn’t. That gives us a taste of omniscience: we experience God’s knowledge. It’s also important that in the heavenly conversations, God affirms Job’s innocence.  The Lord says, “…you (Satan) incited me against him for no good reason” (2:3). If we didn’t have that information, we’d side with Job’s friends: he suffered because he sinned.

Job, therefore, makes the best of what he knows. He lives his life, like us, without understanding the reason why, without warning, he should be wiped out of possessions, employees, and children. That’s how we experience life, too. We live our lives the best we can with the knowledge we have. We usually do our best with what we know at the time. If we can’t fathom a deeper meaning for events in our life, or those in others’, we learn to live with our questions, protest our lot, and/or, in spite of cirumstances, trust God.

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Why Doesn’t God Tell Job, “You Passed”?

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Gordon Grose

A couple of weeks ago our seven-year-old grandson and I listened to a radio speaker. Dinesh D’Souza asked a question which struck a note with our grandson. He had read Job’s story in his Bible story book, so he knew the plot.

“Why didn’t God just tell Job, ‘It was a test, and you passed,’”? he wanted to know. “That’s a good question,” I said. I admit I didn’t have a ready answer. I also wanted him to think about his answer. A lot of questions about Job puzzle us. This is one of them.

If only we could make sense out of life at times. In spite of adversity, if only God would somehow personally let us know we’re on the right track, it might reassure us. It might encourage us to go on. We’d feel relieved.

I’ve thought about that question since. I’ve got some ideas, but I wonder if you have any thoughts. If so, I’d like to hear from you. Take your time. Think about it. Read Godforsaken: Bad Things Happen. Is There A God Who Cares?, D’Souza’s new book (Tyndale, 2012). He may give his answer there, but I’m more interested in yours.

What’s your answer?

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What’s Good About Good Friday?

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Gordon Grose

“Excuse me,” my Post Office delivery lady said, “But why do they call it “Good Friday?” She explained her fellow postal workers had discussed the matter but couldn’t come up with the answer. Maybe she asked me because I received Christianity Today regularly. I decided not to engage in extraneous matters, and said, “Because Christ died for our sin.” “Oh,” she said, nodded understandingly, then drove off.

It seems such a simple question, but people today, especially in the state where I live, miss out on basic information, specially about Christianity. Many deliberately avoid the Christian message; some oppose it  The vacuum quickly fills with secularism and with   values of other religions.

Through calling today Good Friday, through special worship services, and, where appropriate, through sharing basic information, we remember Christ died for our sins. In Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, the author appears in only one scene. Do you recall seeing Jesus, laid out on the cross, when the Roman Centurion strikes the spike through Jesus’ palm?

“That was my hand,” Mel said, “driving the spike.”

Although our fist also drove the spike, Jesus nevertheless bore our sin. That makes this Friday Good.

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Steps toward Health

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Gordon Grose

One man, shown his brain image with damage from his addiction, responded that maybe the doctor was “fudging the picture.” In the grip of his unhealthy habit, he preferred to deceive himself. To change ourselves, then, requires enormous effort.

For several posts we’ve considered three common sources of difficulties: depression, addiction, and overeating. Let’s look at some steps we can take to pursue health: physical, mental, and spiritual.

Because we tend to repeat those habits with greatest rewards, we must actively engage with our mind to avoid bad habits. We must decide if health is a top priority. It may be, but before we can overcome our inner disposition (rewards from dopamine) combined with external temptations, we must decide. If we decide health is our top goal, we can begin with some mental strategies to redirect ourselves.

Our first step is to examine what we believe. Our beliefs can be accurate, or, as is often the case, very wrong. Like the man mentioned above, we believe the doctor fudged the brain scan. We may believe we’re not addicted, or that our dark mood is normal, or that we can eat as much as we want.  Perhaps we believe marijuana helps our creativity. To change, we start by checking out what we believe.

What beliefs hinder your health?

Source: Brian E. King, Ph.D. Presentation on “How the Brain Forms New Habits,” Institute for Brain Potential, Clackamas, OR 2/1/12.

 

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Hope for Those Who Eat (too much)

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Gordon Grose

Many times I find myself eating, not because I feel hungry, but because snack food is available, because I want to feel fuller (I’m already full), or because I crave something sweet. Other people may eat to relieve boredom, to occupy time, or to feel better with use of mood-elevating carbohydrates, like candy and cake. When we eat to feel better, we can put on weight. That can lead to shame for our shape–which leads to eating more to feel better. Now a vicious cycle sets in.

What we’ve learned about drinking too much and depression as bad habits, we can apply to overeating. Just as we need to take control of our decisions in those areas, we need to take conscious control of our (over) eating. If we have or have had a problem with a compulsive behavior, we never forget how to do it. Just like we never forget our ability to ride a bike or to drive a car, we’ve learned our compulsion to overeat.  That’s because our brain contains a permanent source of memory.

Our brain, however, can also help us. One part identifies opportunities to make life better, and also how much better. Another part evaluates how much effort it will take to do so. That leads us to assess whether or not change is worth it. When we decide it is/is not worth the effort, the brain signals the area of our memory. We then act.

Remember, our brain focuses on the next few minutes, not long-term. It’s up to us, therefore, to find reasons to justify our self-control. To become healthy, we need good reasons, with long-term benefits, ways to reinforce our decision, and support at each step. But we can do it.

Source: Brian E. King, Ph.D. Presentation on “How the Brain Forms New Habits,” Institute for Brain Potential, Clackamas, OR 2/1/12.

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Hope for the Depressed

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Gordon Grose

What we learned about drinking we can apply to emotions. We can see depression, for example, as a habitual response of seeking relief through withdrawal–a bad habit! Because we find life difficult, we avoid troublesome emotions or situations by a retreat from life. This affects our thoughts about ourself: we create negative self-talk. That, in turn, further erodes our perception of our competence to handle distress. We then start to ruminate.

At this point, we have good reason to feel helpless. By this time people not prone to depression have gone into action to change their focus, or circumstances. People with serious and chronic depression, however, evidence changes in the brain. The anterior cingulate gyrus monitors the effect of our responses to provide feedback: “it’s working, keep it up”; or “it’s not working, try something else.” In chronic depression, that area fails to trigger a change in strategy. That makes us even less able to respond appropriately to stress.

While our anterior cingulate increases in volume in early major depressive episodes, it decreases in volume in later episodes. Also, although early episodes reflect a response to stress, later ones appear more spontaneous. If we intervene in early depressive episodes with medication and therapy, we can prevent later episodes of depression.

Sources: Brian E. King, Ph.D. Presentation on “How the Brain Forms New Habits,” Institute for Brain Potential, Clackamas, OR 2/1/12.                                                     Caroline Helwick, “Cingulate Cortex Volume Varies with Severity of Major Depressive Disorder,” http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/727869 Accessed 3/15/12 7:16 p.m.

 

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