Year 5, Day 115: Job 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

In Job 21, Job speaks to the fact that the wicked do prosper in this life.  I personally believe that Job is right.  When I look around to the leaders of the world, to the truly wealthy of the world, to the ones in the world who have much power, or to the ones in the world who have much fame I see many people who are living selfish godless lives. 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Who am I to judge?  Am I innocent in ungodliness?  Absolutely not.  I have my own sin to worry about, not theirs.  God can judge them.  I'm just looking around for truth.

The truth doesn’t just because I have my own sinfulness to worry about.  The wicked do often prosper in this life.  When the wicked prosper, it usually results in the wicked turning further and further from God.  As the wicked prosper, the people around them learn how to prosper under the desire to first think about oneself.  As people prosper, the generations that come after them learn from their self-centeredness.

I believe this is inherently rooted in appetite.  We want.  We want more than we need.  We want to keep up with the neighbors.  In fact, we want to have more than the neighbors to prove our worth and status and station in life.  Because we want, we take what we want.  Because of our appetite for things, we often find ourselves doing whatever we can in order to acquire the things.  Our appetite drives for prosperity – however it is that we define prosperity – drives us to selfishness instead of godliness.

In the end, I believe that Job is right.  The wicked don’t usually get what they deserve.  The wicked prosper all around us.  You cannot look very far without seeing the selfish fingerprints of humanity there.  Most often, when you find those selfish fingerprints of humanity you often find them going unchecked, too.

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