Job 16:15

I have patched my scabs with sack cloth,

   Have buried my dignity in the dust.

I got seven hours sleep last night; not soon enough to make Bible Study, but its my best day in over a week already. As I fought for the first five hours last night trying to go to sleep, I realized that beyond acknowledging that I do not need to want a car, I also do not need money to fulfill any loving my neighbor. I actually had the idea that I could start like an Angie’s list or Wikipedia of just the things I wanted to know about life that an expert somewhere kept up each topic, and I just provided the platform. As with my realization that I do not need to start my own charity, maybe I can just help someone with their own version of this.

‘Patched’ was ‘sewed’ all eight times. I changed it all on my own. ‘Scabs’ was ‘skin’ and ‘scars’; so, another I change all on my own.

‘Buried my dignity’ was ‘laid my strength’, ‘buried my brow’, ‘laid my head’, ‘defiled my horn’, ‘buried my glory’, ‘dug my horns’, ‘thrust my horn’, and of course from my favorite source ‘buried my dignity’.

‘Worthy is the lamb.’ When I started thinking of dignity in the world around us, I realized that no other person will ever be worthy. As smart as a man like Elon Musk may be, he simply can never be worthy the way Christ was. As good for us as Donald Trump thinks he is, only Christ was. As much as Christ was God, He was also a man. And I wonder if God ‘made’ Christ not better than any man by any skill or talent other than having the focus to follow God at all times and never sin which of course is way better in the best way.

My guess is that just as Satan accused Job of only following God because Job’s live was so great, Satan would accuse Jesus of just being smarter or better or hedged in unless Jesus was as ordinary of a man as a man could be. Paul Skenes is a great pitcher, but he is also a giant man with abilities other people simply do not have. Arron Judge is a great hitter, but the man is a giant with abilities others simply do not have. Christ was probably ordinary except for His ability to not sin.

I spent most of my life wrestling with the pressure of being the smart kid and simply not having the desire to make the most of it. Every so often I tag cars as ‘not of interest’ on Instagram to see what pops up in their place. Almost invariably I see posts about getting rich or getting a better job, neither of which appeals to me either. But what I hardly ever see from Instagram or Facebook or any other normal outlet is the theme of being a better neighbor. I have no need for a really expensive car or a boss, but I sure would like to have better neighbors, and to be one.

Written 7/18/25, Posted 9/3/25, Job 388