A local home remodeling company is running a commercial in which they laud themselves for their success and their scrupulous business practices. At the end of the ad, they give credit to God and speculate about how large their company could be, with His help, in the future.
The commercial irritates me for two reasons. First, it is a cynical and not terribly subtle way of soliciting business from like-minded Christians. Second, it essentially takes the position that the success of the firm is due to God’s favor, which presumably has been earned by the owners through their hard work and virtue. It is a manifestation of what has come to be known as the prosperity gospel.
If the owners of this business were living in South Sudan, they wouldn’t be running this commercial; instead of attributing their success to God and their own righteousness, they would probably be hiding out in a swamp somewhere. The fact is that the world is full of injustice; some of us are just luckier than others. This is an issue that all religions, including Christianity, have to confront.
The authors of the Book of Job understood this, and provided an answer. Whether you find it satisfactory or not is up to you.