Job 2:1-10
Done with James, now we've got a few weeks in Job. So, like some of us know the book digs into what's up with God letting "bad things happen to good people"? Big question. We all ask it, right? And when we all witness heinous things on this earth, it's easy to start to draw a couple of conclusions:
1. There is no God.
2. If God exists his power must be limited (he's unable to stop bad things from happening).
3. If God exists and is all-powerful he must not be good (he can do anything but doesn't care enough to stop bad things).
4. God is all-powerful and good, but likes to put us through bad things to make us better people.
5. God is all-powerful and good, but no human is really "good", so we get bad things according to what we deserve.
I'm sure there are more options, but the idea is that what we experience on earth, especially of suffering and evil, can affect how we understand God. It can punch holes in whether or not we think God exists. It involves what we assume about humankind and what humans do/don't deserve.
That's where we're going to start together. As a young American I know I can stand to get a better grip on what I do/don't deserve. My standard of living and quality of life, marketing and the media, convince me every day that I deserve much. It's like the recent news story of the girl who tried to sue her college when she didn't get a job right away after graduation. It's this idea of entitlement. But on the other hand, plenty of us have a hard time feeling like we deserve any of the good we find. Have you ever struggled to let yourself be loved, or feel valuable?
So the question this first week with Job is, what are we really entitled to? Nothing? Everything? Do we deserve good or bad? What is God obligated to do or not do?
