He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. – Job 1:2-3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 12, 2024): Job 1

According to Forbes, there are 2,719 Billionaires living on our planet right now. The poorest person on this list is Werner O. Weber, an 85-year-old from Switzerland, who made his money in electronic components. He barely qualifies for the Billionaire list, possessing only 1 billion dollars. The wealthiest man on the list is Elon Musk, with 226.2 billion dollars, followed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos at 186.6 Billion, although these numbers are very fluid. On the day I accessed the figures, Musk had lost almost six billion, while Bezos found his portfolio down over 15 billion dollars. If you are curious, former President Trump was listed at number 578 on the list with six billion dollars in his possession, about the same amount that Musk lost on the day I checked their net worths. But the truth is that no one on the Billionaires list is hurting for money. Even with what Trump owes because of his convictions, he still has more money than many of us can dream of ever having. And so does Werner Weber.

The opening of Job's story gives us a description of who Job was, and essentially, the picture that we get is that Job was the Elon Musk of the Ancient Eastern World. Undoubtedly, Job was a great man, and he was wealthy. But his wealth went far beyond the material goods that he owned. He had a wonderful family, which included ten children and many servants who served the family. Job had everything.

However, what made Job truly great wasn't just how much he had but what he did with it. Later in the story of Job, we read this;

Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,
because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
    and the fatherless who had none to assist them.
The one who was dying blessed me;
    I made the widow's heart sing.
I put on righteousness as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.
I was eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy;
    I took up the case of the stranger.
I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims from their teeth (Job 29:11-17).

Regardless of how much we have, what really matters is what we do with it. Job seemed to understand that. He possessed much, yet he was generous with what he had. It is a model we should all try to follow as long as we journey on the earth, regardless of how much or how little we have.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 2