IN A RECENT SERMON, I was reminded of a verse that I’ve always felt was very helpful but very “under-preached.” That is, I don’t recall ever hearing a minister of the word speak directly on what it addresses. But to me, it’s one of those verses that clears up so many things, especially when it comes to how we view our own troubles.
This verse also fills in a blank from a previous post on the different types of evil. Many times we fly up against the revealed will of God (or the basic laws he built into the universe) and then wonder why we suffer.
The verse I’m talking about is 1 Peter 2:20, and it goes like this—from several versions (and note carefully the first half):
“But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” (NIV)
“For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.” (KJV)
“For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.” (NAS)
You may know a person who, even in the face of their own willful foolishness or delinquency, will refuse to take responsibility for the inevitable results of his or her own actions, and will look for praise at his or her ability to face up under their “bad luck” and “unfair treatment” by the world, or whatever cause he or she wants to blame, other than themselves.
It’s like a child defying gravity pretending to be a super-hero, standing on the peak of the roof. Despite his aspirations, gravity will have the final word, one law that cannot be trifled with.
But What About Job?
But how does this New Testament verse relates to the person of Job in the Old Testament? Well, both in the prologue and the epilogue of the book, Job is declared to be without fault. He was without great sin and yet he suffered harsh treatment. In fact, Job—a righteous man—suffered both at the hands of unrighteous men (the Sabean and Chaldean raiders) and righteous men (his three friends). At least they thought they were righteous! I think that the latter suffering was the harder for him to bear, and he repeats that theme several times (as we will likewise in these posts).
And this is the problem. We usually think suffering has a reason, that it has a cause. But what do you do when it appears meaningless, when it is meted out on an innocent party. That’s when we get angry. That’s when we want to scream, “That’s unfair!”
In the case of Job, he could truly say that his suffering was not due to his own actions. He was just a humble, working man trying to do right by his family and his God. But Job, through no choice of his own, is in a special category—a category I have no special name for, but one that exists only for God’s glory. He was chosen to take part in a cosmic conflict. However, the crucial nature of the conflict is that its main protagonist must be unaware of his participation in that conflict. To him, it’s just ‘another day at the office.’
He must take the field with no advanced armament, no special training, not even a chance to ‘warm up’. He must simply face the challenge with nothing but his character, his attitude, and his daily disciplines to sustain him.
Would that we all were past the first case—reaping the consequences of our own sins, and were all prepared for the second—able to show the glory of God in the unknown battles of our everyday lives.