Where is Your Real Treasure?
by Katherine Harms
(Baltimore, MD)
Job had a really awful, terrible, bad day. A man wealthy beyond most people's dreams, esteemed by his neighbors for his wealth and power, was reduced to abject poverty in a single day.
A messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you."...Another came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you."...Another came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you."...Another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you." Job 1:14-19
All these messages appear to have arrived in rapid succession, maybe even within minutes of each other. Job had no way to know the reason for this terrible tragedy. For him, it would have been like watching the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapse into rubble. His world was crushed, destroyed, over.
According to popular legend Job reacted with patience. It is common to recall his story by saying things like, "This craziness would try the patience of Job." In that interpretation of his story, we are led to believe that he simply outlasted his troubles in the hope of better things to come. By an act of will, he overcame his problems. He refused to despair because he had inner strength.
Other people have suggested that Job simply accepted reality. Why fight what happens? You can"t reverse it. There is no way to go back and fix what is broken. Be a realist. Pick yourself up. Get on with life. Never give up. You can beat this. Easy come, easy go. Don"t worry. Be happy.
Neither of these explanations describes Job's attitude.
Like any of us, Job was hurt and confused by the turn of events. Unlike his wife, his faith was not shattered. Job endured and triumphed in this situation by keeping an important truth uppermost in his mind: everything belongs to God. He acknowledged that his possessions and even his family were lent to him by God. They all belonged to God. Job recognized that he held them all as a steward, not an owner.
In our daily lives, we are bombarded by a frenzied attempt to make us value possessions more than anything else. We are told that people will judge us by our possessions. If we want to be "cool" we will own a certain phone. If we want respect in the boardroom, we will wear a certain brand of suit. If we want the opposite sex to be attracted, we will look a certain way. Our bodies, our clothes, our houses, cars and even our watches can make or break us. We can achieve power by choosing the right possessions.
We are also told that our choices can propel us in the workplace. By force of will and a discipline enforced by the right planner and the right time management software, we can impress our customers and our superiors. We can rise professionally and earn more and more money, so we can buy more of the things that will impress people around us. Our will can drive us to our selected goals.
Jesus talked about a man who lived this way. We call this man the Rich Fool. One year, he had a harvest so large that he could see his way to a comfortable retirement. All he needed was a strategy to optimize his investments so they would take care of him forever. He pulled down his barns and built huge ones. He put all his wealth in those barns. Then he said to himself, "Self, you are set for life. Just enjoy!" That night God confronted him with his mortality. God reminded him that nobody takes a U-haul to heaven. (See Luke 12:13-21)
Ultimately, it is all about the location of our treasure. Jesus said, "Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." (Luke 12:33) The Rich Fool's treasure was on earth, in his big barns. Job's treasure was in heaven, in the Lord himself. That is why he could say,
["Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
