It’s easy to hate on Job’s wife.
If you grew up in church and learned Scripture from a young age, her infamous proposal is absurd. How could anyone curse the Person they were told is so great since childhood? How could a true believer spite their “loving Father” and give up on the life He gave?
The thought of doing that is repulsive to most Christians. And yet, I love the inclusion of her words in the text. Her husband is Scripture’s poster child for suffering—well, besides Christ Himself—and she witnessed all that suffering firsthand.
From a human perspective, her suggestion made sense. It made sense to curse the One who allowed calamity despite her husband’s devotion to Him. There was no point in trusting a guy in the clouds who was either fake, powerless, or deceitful. And there was no point in living if heartache was all there was to look forward to.
The logical soundness of her appeal is easily dismissed if you haven’t arrived at despair. After all, it’s normal to fight for God when you haven’t felt disappointed by Him. But when “curse God and die” sounds somewhat logical, when it loses its repulsiveness, and when it just might be the only solution, that’s when we have a chance to do something special.
Christianity’s greatest opportunities occur when we’re expected to act like normal humans. When we’re lonely and don’t see a path to belonging, when we’re abused and want to get even, or when we lose a family member to a terminal illness, it’s normal to give up, seek revenge, or blame God.
No matter if you grew up in church or not, the playing field’s even then, and no one could blame you for acting like a human would…
But this is your best chance to show a new humanity.
The new self isn’t normal. The new self isn’t logical. And the new self isn’t possible without God living inside you.
So why shouldn’t you “curse God and die”?
If you’re asking as a normal person, I honestly don’t know. But if you’re asking as a new creation, it’s because you have the power to stay the course.
-Drew
Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash
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