Reputation
Imagine being a newcomer in a place of worship when you overhear two men speaking together. One of them says:
“Hey, did you notice that when I walk through services, people part to make a path for me?”
Intrigued, you edge closer. This must be a powerful man, you think. Is he a preacher? A rock star? A politician? A sports hero?
“Everyone stops talking when I enter the room. They hang on my every word. I’m the wisest person around,” he says. “And look. When I smile at them, they can’t believe that they came this close to me!”
Did he really say that?
If he were a preacher or politician, would you like him? If he were a famous musician, would you respect him? If he were a sports champion, would you want your son or daughter to make him a role model?
Most importantly, would you leave thinking that someone so fixated on his own acclaim—someone who so loved the stage of human approval—was truly righteous?
Yet, these are the sentiments of Job, who in Job 29, vs. 7-11, recalls his way of life before catastrophe afflicted him.
When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet; the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me.
Job continues in Verses 21-24:
People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel. After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears. They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain. When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
The Bible instructs God’s followers to glorify God, and the Lord states in Isaiah 42:8, “I will not yield my glory to another,” but Job focused on another type of glory: his own. Job explained, simply, that he expected that his own glory would not fade. Like the New Testament Pharisees, who loved honor and recognition, Job was filled with religious pride. The Joy of Job, An Investigator's Perspective on the Most Righteous Man on Earth, recounts these and other hidden truths of a book that has confounded God followers for generations.
“Hey, did you notice that when I walk through services, people part to make a path for me?”
Intrigued, you edge closer. This must be a powerful man, you think. Is he a preacher? A rock star? A politician? A sports hero?
“Everyone stops talking when I enter the room. They hang on my every word. I’m the wisest person around,” he says. “And look. When I smile at them, they can’t believe that they came this close to me!”
Did he really say that?
If he were a preacher or politician, would you like him? If he were a famous musician, would you respect him? If he were a sports champion, would you want your son or daughter to make him a role model?
Most importantly, would you leave thinking that someone so fixated on his own acclaim—someone who so loved the stage of human approval—was truly righteous?
Yet, these are the sentiments of Job, who in Job 29, vs. 7-11, recalls his way of life before catastrophe afflicted him.
When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet; the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me.
Job continues in Verses 21-24:
People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel. After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears. They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain. When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
The Bible instructs God’s followers to glorify God, and the Lord states in Isaiah 42:8, “I will not yield my glory to another,” but Job focused on another type of glory: his own. Job explained, simply, that he expected that his own glory would not fade. Like the New Testament Pharisees, who loved honor and recognition, Job was filled with religious pride. The Joy of Job, An Investigator's Perspective on the Most Righteous Man on Earth, recounts these and other hidden truths of a book that has confounded God followers for generations.
To read more from The Joy of Job, click HERE