TOPIC: IN THE EYE OF THE DOCTRINE OF CAUSALITY (1)
TEXT: JOB 4:1-9
Whether we face hardship or prosperity, Job’s story teaches us that life is not really about physical conditions. It is about our faith and relationship with God which is most important. Job’s friends subscribed to a doctrine that has been popular throughout history, the doctrine of causality, that prosperity is the direct result of righteousness and suffering is the direct result of sin. This doctrine holds that one can observe the circumstances of another person’s life and know whether he is righteous or sinful. It maintains that God infallibly rewards the righteous with material prosperity. Conversely, God invariably punishes sin through suffering and loss.
When Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar saw Job’s misery, they immediately diagnosed the problem. Job obviously had sinned against God for such devastating suffering to have come upon him. Eliphaz’ opening speech to Job states the friends’ doctrine: “Whoever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?” (Job 4:7). His appeal is for Job to accept his punishment as just and to profit from God’s righteous discipline. Innocent people do suffer, and righteous men often perish. In the world through ages, we have seen many cases in which the wicked apparently prosper. Contrary to the cliché “Crime does not pay,” criminals often do escape the justice of the law. Wealthy and famous people conspicuously flaunt their immorality and disdain for God’s laws, yet remain prosperous.
When the apostles saw a man who had been born blind they asked Jesus whose sin had caused this suffering (John 9:1–3). Jesus replied that this case was not the result of sin at all, but was an opportunity for God to be glorified. On another occasion Jesus warned against covetousness and proclaimed, “Not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions” (Luke 12:15), thus indicating that it is not God’s concern to insure our material prosperity. Later in the New Testament Paul refutes false teachers who were contending that God wanted physical improvement for his followers by denying that “godliness is a means of [material] gain” (1 Timothy 6:5).
Certain strong elements of truth support the doctrine of causality. God does care for His subjects and wish for them a good life (1 Timothy 2:2, 3). He created this earth with its resources and beauty and intended them for man’s enjoyment and needs (Acts 14:17). Obviously, sin is often a factor in suffering, and righteousness often results in happiness and prosperity. The principles upon which God’s laws are based are principles of successful behaviour. Such virtues as love, honesty, discipline, temperance, and patience will help us to preserve our bodies, build good relationships, and maintain mental and emotional health. Violating these principles invites disaster, in that such violations will lead to strife, addiction, ill-health, and other disasters.
Word Affirmation: “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me." - Psalm 18:19 (Don't just say it, mean it!)
“Life is about the most important, our faith and relationship with God."
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