The story of Job is a fable. Job is a tool to teach people faith is how to go through life as a good Christian, but aren’t you at all curious as to why? Atheists live their whole lives mostly without giving it a thought, or mocking the concept, but the concept came from somewhere. There has to be a reason for the concept.
Religion as a concept is man-made, it comes from the human mind. The mind is a complex thing. Gods, a creator to answer curiosities, to look to when things go sideways, a way of hope, someone to blame, there are so many reasons the mind would be unsatisfied without a creator to look to.
If there truly is a God, how could a good, all-powerful being, like Christians claim He is, allow evil in the world? There is a simple enough answer to this theological question; He created the nature of the world. Now he allows reality to unfold. However, in the bible, he makes exceptions. In Job, he outright allows Satan to disrupt reality to test Job.
Stop and think about that metaphor. Satan, in this case, is just reality, the viewer thinks of Satan as an evil being who has the power to disrupt your life, being blamed for every misfortune, but in this story, he is not evil, he’s not exactly good either, just as reality is chaotic and random for the good and the bad.
People use religion to orient themselves properly, to orient themselves with something material. You will never truly try to be the best person you can be if every goal, every idol status, is obtainable. To truly be happy, to truly have a challenge, is to orient yourself with something impossible. To aim as high as God is impossible, but to look up to him, you are all the better for it and every challenge life throws at you along the way is all the more fun to beat.
You also must remember this question. People ask how life can be awful, but perspective can make it so much easier. Life is awful. With that in mind as a statement rather than a question, you can do something about it. Optimism is ridiculous when taken too far. If life is puppies and rainbows, no one will ever better themselves. You shouldn’t think too negatively. With this ultimate question, it is easy to resent God or feel the cards are stacked against you. It’s the world’s way of a happy medium to get you through all of life as a well-rounded person.
For example, during this story of Job, Job’s friends tell Job he must have done something wrong to deserve such an awful time, but it is important to ask, are they right? I say no with certainty. Job’s friends are considering cause and effect. In the modern world, you do something awful at work, you get fired. That is negative cause and effect, but life isn’t that simple. Life isn’t some cartoon where you can make everything better with a hug and the occasional “I’m sorry”. From the perspective of a religious person, God created the order of the world to challenge and shape all of his creations. Life is chaotic and sometimes that can be a wonderful thing, but sometimes the chaos of the world throws misfortune your way. It’s not usually your fault when you get cancer, or even When you simply spill a cup of coffee.
The world is an amazing and cruel thing. The most important thing to remember, you can always fall flat on your face, or rise to the occasion. Whether religious or not, there is something to be said for the story of Job.
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