Week 22 Job
Right away as I start reading Job I’m kind of forced to think about Non-Preference-Based Faith.
In general Preference-Based Faith is preferable.
Preference-wise I personally prefer the idea of Preference-Based Faith, a faith that the Lord will give me some pretty good and enjoyable outcomes.
With Job I see a guy with a faith that seems to say: religious faith does give me some pretty good outcomes and it also gives me some pretty bad outcomes. Both…and.
I don’t guess I’m alone in being more partial to Preference-Based Faith than I am to Non-Preference-Based Faith. Let’s say I do a poll among religious people in Alberta:
Do you prefer a religious faith that gives you pretty good outcomes; or
Do you prefer a religious faith that gives you pretty bad outcomes?
Predictable results: 1000-0.
But it’s a dumb poll, really. I don’t think Job would even answer it because his personal preferences weren’t the issue, didn’t determine his state of faith.
After a bunch of bad things happened to Job: he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said…the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.
A bit later he asked his wife: shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?
Job was a Preference-Based and Non-Preference-Based guy.
And one was way, way simpler to be.
Note: quotes from Job 1:20-22 and 2:10 (NASB version)