"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.
And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.
Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East."
Job 1:1-3
There's nothing new anywhere on this earth; while we live here now, there were a good number of people who have lived wherever we live now, worked wherever we work now, and done whatever we are doing now. The point is, there is so much to be learnt from the past, knowing that whatever we are doing now, some people must have done it before. The past is a bundle of experience that any wise person can learn from; not necessarily from the successes of the past, but also from the failures of the past. Therefore, the earlier we sit down to research the lives, works and actions of the men and women of the past.
In this article, I want to share the experience of a man that the Bible recorded as the greatest man in the East. He became the greatest man, not by accident; but by deliberate acts, discipline or lifestyle. From the book was of Job 1:1-3, we understand that Job became the greatest man in the East by certain rules of life, which if embraced by anyone today, could produce same greatness in anyone.
The first RULE I observed from the life of Job is BLAMELESSNESS. Many of us care less about how people perceive us and even how God perceives us. We simply live our lives to please only ourselves – we make decisions without considering the full consequences of our decisions; yet, we don't want to be blamed for the error of our own judgments. For Job, his live was governed by the rule of being blameless. He avoided blame, and he didn't blame others for his own shortcomings- instead, he accepted responsibility for his decisions and indecision.
The second RULE I observed from the life of Job is UPRIGHTNESS. Among other things, an upright person is a straightforward person; someone whose word and action aligns. A person who yes is yes and no is no. Uprightness ensures your consistency and reliability. People can trust the outcome of your life at any time and they can make decisions – trusting your own judgments. Are you an upright person? Are you straightforward? Can you be trusted? Do you know what happens to anyone that cannot be TRUSTED? They actually RUST away without any meaningful impact from their lives.
The third RULE I observed from the life of Job is FEAR OF GOD. According to the book of John 4:24, God is Spirit. The implication of that is simple: since God is Spirit, you can't see Him, yet you must follow Him, learn from Him, and please Him. The question is, "Can you learn from, follow or please someone you can't see?" The secret to that is to fear Him! The fear of God according to the book of Proverbs is the beginning of wisdom. The point is, until you can fear God, you may never become a great entity on earth under God.
The fourth RULE I observed from the life of Job is SHUNNING EVIL. These days, "evil" is relative: for while many people who have no God do evil things, even people who call on God daily also do evil. The point is, there seems not to be a clear cut meaning for evil again; as men everywhere now justify their evil acts with constitutional or legal or any other reason could could conjure. However, God can't be mocked, "Whatever a man sows, the same he will reap." If a man sows evil, he will surely reap corruption; if a man shuns evil, he will reap greatness. That is it!
Reading the book of Job 1:1-5, one could be tempted to become jealous with the wealth and comfort or greatness of the man called Job; however, in the same Scripture that exposes his greatness, the secret of his greatness was equally revealed. The decision is now ours to make. If we desire greatness, then:
1. We must live a blameless life;
2. We must become upright in all things;
3. We must fear God sincerely (without being forced or cajoled);
4. We must shun evil deliberately.
