Job 1:6-22
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[a] also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 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. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
In the book of Job, Job and others are confused as to why such bad things are happening to him, but my take on it is that God is trying to show people that loyalty and love cannot be dependent on getting what you want. Now, it is true that people do get blessed by serving God, but everything still doesn’t go their way. There is no way it could. There is often no way to stop natural disasters, to stop the fact that despite your good heart and effort many will not do right, the fact that everyone will die at some point, even the blessed.
And also, there is the fact that God would be hurt by feeling used. For instance, that’s a problem with rich people. Some rich people are just convinced that they’re only being loved for the money, and that’s probably true in most cases. Anyway, though, it is true that to get the friendship and loyalty of people (your wife, for instance) you need to give, you need to provide, but that can’t always be the foundation for the relationship. For instance, what about times when you can’t give and provide? What about when you’re sick?
Ultimately, the ability to love people regardless of what you’re getting is a big part of loving a person or God.
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