What is Personal Theology?

Introduction 

The primary understanding of theology is the question for learning more about God. To know God is to enhance your life, to comprehend His creation, that is, humankind and the context created. The book of job is an understandable place to turn when a Christians suffering, but it is very hard to determine what God intends to teach his people through this book (Larry, 1997). I believe the key to understanding the book of Job can be found in the very first sections in the Criticizer’s question, “Does Job fear God for no reason?” (1:9)The question portrays that the Criticizer is suggesting that Job is not respectful and faithful to God for God’s sake, but simply because of ancillary blessings that accumulate in the relationship. The Criticizer proceeds to say in verse 11 that Job will openly curse God. The allegation is that it is not possible to have a connection with God, and in Job’s case, he treasured the gifts he got more than he treasured God. Job is typically recognized as an honorable man who not only suffered unfairly but also as a man who questioned why good people suffer (Ray, 2014). 

Why do bad things happen to good people? 

The book of Job demonstrates to Christians that God tests His followers that they may learn to depend on Him, and only Him, for everything. In actual fact, God designed this book as a framework to encourage us for the trials and reinforcing of our belief. Trials will come your way: loss of family, friends, deteriorating health, and death. The fear of God is an understanding of God that affects our feelings, thoughts, and conduct to seek God’s approval. After experiencing so much suffering and endless trials, Job realizes that the source of his doubts was his lack of understanding and over-confidence in his own righteousness. 

Christian followers and non-followers alike are frequently challenged by situations in their lives. The book indicates that many good people are disappointed and bitter because they believe that bad things happen them undeservedly. Rather than being unfair, God’s holy word shows His sovereignty and provides guidance required to accept the theology of suffering. A study of this book enables followers to understand God’s sovereignty so that they may be perfected in faith, allow their circumstances to bring glory to God, and offer hope to believers of later generations (Harold, 2007). 

The problem of suffering 

Christians must want to live holy lives. Suffering can be a very awful experience. Most of the dialogues of Job’s friends show this. They have many different thoughts, which were all wrong. Eliphaz perceives sense in things by talking about his own experiences (4:12-27), Bildad always talks of the past (8:8-10), and Zophar says many factual things but lacks love, compassion, and pity. I think that the attitude of Job’s friends doesn’t gratify God. This is evident because at times we have the physical suffering of our sins and because of this we fail to understand God’s purpose for us and we end up failing him (Kelly, 2017). However, God may not bring suffering to our lives, but he has the capacity to make good use of it to make us better people because of it. In my judgment, Elihu is better than the other two friends because he suggests a spiritual meaning of suffering. He assumes that God’s actions with men can be mysterious and his methods match His nature (33: 29-30). He goes ahead to say that God judges all his people in a just way (34:21-28). 

Is God fair in the book of Job? 

In the light of a living, all-powerful, and a loving God, there exists justice for all. Job cries out for a judge because he believes that God is a completely fair God (Ray, 2014). In Job 38:39-40, Job asks God, “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their covert?” we can interpret this chapter in different ways. The first approach presents God as someone who takes care of his creation. In this scenario, God says this, “Job, you have been saying that I do not love you and that I don’t care about all the injustice in the world. But I am a loving God. I feed the lions and so you’ve got to trust me.” The second approach presents God as someone who is all about power, not justice. In this scenario, God says that “Job, you rant about me being unfair as if I am restricted by your puny definition of justice. I do strange things, and I don’t have to answer to anyone’s standards or expectations. Well, guess what? I’m also the one who gives the predatory lions their prey.I am God, and I have the power.” 

Conclusion 

I have a hard time perceiving God as devoid of ethics. He is the creator rather than the destroyer. So he is not all about power, and neither is he all about justice. Christians believe that God can have so many reasons for all of his actions that deviate from strict justice. In this case, God’s intentions were to test Job to see if Job would curse him. God’s aim is to determine if we are truly righteous or if we are merely acting out of our self-interest. If we fail the tests, God will never abandon us. So is God all about power, is He always fair? No. This is because he doesn’t always give us what we deserve, but He gives us what we spiritually need. So in my opinion, God is not obsessed with strict justice or power, instead, he is about righteousness, and that is good for us. 

References 

Harold, K. (2007). When Bad Things Happen to Good People . Chicago: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Print 

Kelly, M. (2017). Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering . New York: InterVarsity Press. Print 

Larry, W. (1997). Reflections on Suffering from the Book of Job . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Print 

Ray, S. (2014). Let God be God: Life-Changing Truths from the Book of Job . New York: Discovery House. Print