Monday, June 08, 2009

Integrity

Satan has approached God once again. In God's response we hear that Job "still maintains his integrity." So given the power, Satan strikes the health of Job. He afflicted the man with sores from head to toe, surely Job would realize that God is not worthy of his praise after this.

But his wife says to him using some of the same language as God "why do you maintain your integrity." I have found that word intriguing. In my search I've found meanings including honest, perfect, whole, blameless, and many others. The original Hebrew word is only found five times in the Bible. Integrity is more than telling the truth and being honest. Those things ruin integrity because the "holistic" nature of our "selves" is broken when we deceive others and put on a face. Integrity is the perfection of completion, of being whole and unified.

In the beginning, God created and it was good. As humans we desire a connection with something bigger and many of us find that in God. We know inside that there is something bigger and we desire to be a part of it. Job recognizes that apart from God he is nothing. We see this in his words of "naked I came and naked I go, the Lord gives and takes, blessed be the name of the Lord." Job's wife encourages him to give up his integrity, to curse God and die, but Job realizes that to curse God is to deny his own identity. Job follows God not because of prosperity and not because of life, Job follows God because he knows that is what he was made to do.

So now, Job's challenge is even greater. My wholeness is in God, I am because of Yahweh; I in God and God in me. Apart from God I am nothing, but why do I suffer so?

The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

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