Jackpot Jesus

Job is perhaps one of the most fascinating and challenging books in the Bible. To me, the difficulty lies in the fact that God does not offer easily accessed commentary on the philosophies presented by Job's so-called friends. Until the end of the book, we really don't know where God stands on their insensitive humanistic observations and even then we are left wanting, hoping that he would pick them apart one pitifully obtuse point at a time.

However, one thing we do understand from the very beginning is what God and Satan both think about Job. God thinks that Job is special. Indeed he says there is no one like him on the face of the earth, calling him a servant who is "blameless and upright"--pretty high praise from His Holiness.

Satan, on the other hand, is not drinking the Kool-Aid on Job. His belief is that anyone who hit the jackpot with God would be loyal. So he challenged God: "Does Job fear God for nothing?" In other words, anybody would do what Job was doing if they were getting paid. Everyone has their price and, by meeting his price, God ensured that Job would be on his best behavior. Satan hypothesized that if God stopped paying him, Job would go the way of the rest of creation, becoming a self-absorbed malcontent.

What about you?

Do you worship Jackpot Jesus? If things in your world went sour, would you sour on God?