The Best, Worst Things about Bearing God's Image

   A preview of February's email-only article.

Jared Rice

LIFE HAS A way of beating us down at times. But no matter how bad our circumstances, often the worst part is not knowing why terrible things occur.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're looking at Job 10. Job reached some depths of despair most of us will never know, but he always held on to one truth. We discuss that truth in this month's article.

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Here's a snippet of this month's exclusive:

When we open up the tenth chapter of Job, we find our protagonist in a dark place.

Of course, Job spends most of the book in metaphorical darkness, but here in chapter ten he takes a turn for the worse, admitting, "I loathe my life" (v. 1). Life, the most precious of gifts, the most beautiful and fragile and rarest of possessions, and yet Job loathes it.

What does it mean to loathe? Merriam-Webster defines loathing as great disklike; disgust. Job is disgusted with his own life. Why? You know the reasons. His children have died. His possessions have been plundered. His health has deteriorated to an excruciating degree. His wife told him to "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). His friends, helpful at first, descend into jerk territory—accusing him of sin, suggesting his children deserved their fate, and proclaiming he should repent—all for want of a better theology.

Penniless, abandoned, bereaved, confused, accused, and afflicted, you can see why Job's life might disgust him. Earlier in the book he even said it would have been better if his mother had miscarried! That's some pretty dark stuff right there.

Have you ever loathed your life?

 
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What Makes You Feel Secure?

  A preview of January's email-only article.

Jaime Spaniol

IT IS TEMPTING to focus our energy and efforts on the material world, especially when it comes to security. We build stronger houses, install better locks, and design more intelligent surveillance systems.

These things are no inherently bad, but if we're not careful we can shift our focus from the the eternal to the temporary.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're looking at a verse from Proverbs 14 that will help provide some eternal prospective regarding the concept of security. If you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below. (If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox!)

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While it's true Solomon may have borrowed or modified many proverbs from ancient sources, Proverbs 14:11 is nevertheless intriguing considering the context in which it was written. The verse reads, "The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish."

The surface reading is pretty obvious: God honors upright living and disaster besets those who are wicked. And the implications are just as obvious: be good, not evil.

But beneath the surface level we can observe a few additional layers of meaning that help us better understand how to apply the verse to our lives.

One can see right off the contrast between the house of the wicked and the tent of the upright. One is sturdy, able to withstand storms, while the other is flimsy and subject to the elements. And yet the house is destroyed, not the tent.

What are we to make of such a phenomenon?

 
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What You Need to Know about Bildad's Influences

A preview of September's email-only article.

Bernard Tuck

Wisdom is a great thing, but as Job's friend, Bildad, found out, relying on even the wisest of humans can get you into trouble.

Just who were these influences of Bildad, and why did he trust them wholeheartedly?

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're talking about worldly wisdom and the limitations thereof. If you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below. (If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox!)

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No matter how old or wise Bildad and his friends were, their lives were but a breath compared to the ancients who lived hundreds of years. And during those centuries, these people would have acquired great wisdom as a faculty of experience.

Nevertheless I'm inclined to believe Bildad did not misappropriate ancient wisdom, but rather that the sages of old failed him in this case. Who, no matter how long he lived, could account for a case like Job's? Bildad thought he knew the answer—that Job had sinned—but he was wrong in spite of consulting the wisest of men. And therein lies a critical lesson we should take to heart. The wisest of humans is a fool compared to God.

 
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The Richest People Don't Live Like You'd Expect

 A preview of July's email-only article.

David Suarez

The richest people are those who own the nicest cars, homes, and jewelry, right?

No, not if you ask King Solomon.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're talking about the key to true riches according to Proverbs and Jesus. If you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below.

Here's a snippet of the article:

Despite owning mansions and flashy cars, a Nicholas Cage or a Burt Reynolds might be broker than you are.

Solomon observed this tendency in the book of Proverbs. He wrote, "One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth" (Prov. 13:7).

On a smaller scale, you probably have neighbors who buy fancier cars than they can afford to impress those in their social circle. You might have co-workers who carry expensive purses so they appear wealthy. But look at their balance sheets, and you'll see they are worth more dead than alive.

Materially speaking, of course.

Maybe you're guilty of pretending to be rich too. I know I've done so under social pressure to try to fit in or with the desire for respect I haven't earned.

But Solomon's proverb has a spiritual corollary.

 
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