Job 9:29

I shall surely be condemned,

   Why then do I labor in vain?

I took on a new client this week and received a laptop to use for their work scope. So, after arranging my entire office to accommodate it, I am using a tiny flat keyboard for this. It cannot last, as I keep making abnormal mistakes and I can tell it will hurt my wrists. Ugh. (Saved by a new keyboard for a small fee.)

“Condemned” was also “found guilty”, “wicked”, and “in the wrong”. No real difference in meaning. “Shall surely be” was also “shall be”, “since I am already”, “if I am”, “if I be”, “it will be I who am”, “I am always the one”, and “will be”. “Shall be” and “will be” are too simple. “If” removes the certainty. “It will be I who am” confused me and still does. “I am always the one” is more like a woe is me than the first part of a great statement.

“Labor” was “struggle”, “toil”, and “waste effort”.

I actually created a second unofficial version more suited to me: “I am always the one in the wrong, why should I struggle in vain?” Sometimes I feel that everything is harder than it should be. I struggle with goals; I struggle without them. My mind and my body limit what I can do and even more what I can do well. I compare myself to others and I want to be better. I compare myself to others and I feel good about myself.

Job is admitting that he, like all of us, fall short of the glory of God and our earned reward is eternal damnation and separation from God. He asks, why does he keep struggling if he knows the outcome. The answer, as this verse sets up the following verses, is that God has given us an alternative path not dependent upon our success or failure. Job has hope, a hope greater than his condemnation.

As we learn later in the Bible, the gospel is this new hope, Jesus is our salvation, and our struggle is not to be better, but to allow Jesus to be better for us. I have a ton of music on CDs from when I was younger and eventually ripped them to digital media that I could listen to on the phone or in the car. I never was good about lyrics (hearing and understanding them are not strengths), but I have found myself “hearing” some of the lyrics lately and realizing the “quality” of the music does not always make up for the lack of godliness in the words. Even Ozzy says: “Listen to my words”. I believe that God is telling me I need to listen to him, get rid of things that are not worthy, and stop struggling to be a better Jeff and start allowing Christ to live in me. To lose my life in exchange for His. No time like the present to give up and win.

(Written 9/25-28, Posted 10/6, Job 201)