- Jacob Chanikuzhy
“Prosperity tries the fortunate, adversity the great,” wrote Rose Kennedy, mother of the famous American President John F. Kennedy. Job, the central figure in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, was a man who was tested by both prosperity and adversity. Although great scholars such as St. Thomas Aquinas, who wrote a commentary on the book of Job, believed it contained biographical elements of a historical person, scholars today are more prone to approach it as a parable. Job was extraordinarily wealthy. In the ancient world, especially in the East, wealth was measured by the land, livestock, and servants one possessed, and not by the possession of cash and precious metals. The Bible illustrates Job’s fortune in those terms. Thus, Job had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. Each possession had a practical significance. Sheep provided Job’s household with milk, meat, wool, and skin. Camels were the “ships of the desert,” and they were indispensable for long-distance trade. Oxen were mainly used for ploughing. More oxen meant more agricultural yield. Donkeys were used for local transportation of goods like food and drink to labourers in the fields, as well as for carrying fruit and grain from the fields to the storage. The servants were said to be innumerable, representing not only a vast labour force that could help the owner amass immense riches, but also a military force that secured his products at home and on the trade route. The huge number of camels Job maintained was sure proof of the immense volume of commodities he traded in. All this material wealth and manpower that were at his disposal made him a prominent figure in the land where he lived.
“The Book of Job, however, does not introduce its hero as the wealthiest man in the land, but rather with this description: ‘This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.’ St. Thomas Aquinas speaks about three ways one can sin: against God, against other human beings, and against oneself. The biblical statement on Job testifies that Job did not sin in any of these ways. He had such devotion to God that he offered sacrifices for his sons when they concluded their feasts, fearing that they might have sinned against God during their feasting.”
Yet Job’s blessings extended beyond material wealth. He was also rich in family life, with ten children—seven sons and three daughters. In biblical times, having sons meant continuity of family, security, social honour and fulfillment of God’s covenant promises. Job could acquire wealth with the great motivation of granting a hefty inheritance to his children. Another blessing was that his was a close-knit family. Sometimes, wealth can breed egoism and discord even among siblings. But this was not the case with the children of Job. The sons of Job strengthened their bonds by taking turns to host feasts, inviting all the siblings.
Thus, Job enjoyed a peaceful and prosperous life. Nevertheless, prosperity need not always be a blessing. As the proverb attributed to the French writer Victor Hugo reminds us, “Adversity makes men, prosperity monsters.” Prosperity confronts one with a choice. One can view one’s prosperity as a God-given chance to make others happy, to help the needy, and to uplift the poor. However, many end up with the choice of becoming arrogant, abusive, selfish, and greedy. Prosperity, associated with wealth, power, and success, can lead to complacency and a sense of invincibility. For those who lack a strong moral consciousness, prosperity can indeed amplify their negative traits and lead them astray to become immoral and corrupt. Prosperity can also become a rival to religiosity. Intoxicated with the sense of self-sufficiency, one can even ignore God himself.
The Book of Job, however, does not introduce its hero as the wealthiest man in the land, but rather with this description: “This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” St. Thomas Aquinas speaks about three ways one can sin: against God, against other human beings, and against oneself. The biblical statement on Job testifies that Job did not sin in any of these ways. He had such devotion to God that he offered sacrifices for his sons when they concluded their feasts, fearing that they might have sinned against God during their feasting.
As the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody has rightly stated, “We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God.” Job, however, did not forget God. He successfully survived his prosperity without corruption, avoiding the pitfall of becoming an abusive monster of wealth and remaining a saint of integrity instead.
