I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.
Job 27:5 (NIV)

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was surprised no one has tried to stage the book of Job. As this thought continued to swirl inside my head, I realized where the connection came from in my brain. My senior thesis in college was about the decline of medieval religious dramas. Admittedly, this topic is not something that sparks the interest of any normal person…or any crazy person for that matter.

There was an entire genre of plays in the 14th to 16th centuries known simply as Morality Plays. They typically had a protagonist who was being torn between virtues and vices, with angels and demons present to persuade the protagonist toward the conflicting desires. It’s an expanded version of the commonly referenced motif of conscience with an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other. The story arc of Morality Plays followed a pattern that you can still find lying beneath movies and novels today: temptation, fall, and redemption.

In that sense, Job has the distinct flavor of an ancient Morality Play, but with the twist of a protagonist who finds himself having experienced the consequences of the fall without ever having chosen to succumb to any tempting vice. This is the crux of the debate between Job and his friends. In their world-view, life is one big Morality Play in which a person’s suffering is always connected to that person’s vices.

Today’s chapter is Job’s summation of the back-and-forth conversation between Job and his three friends. He opened with a statement (chapter three), there were three rounds of discourses, and in today’s chapter Job gets the final word.

In his wrap up, Job maintains his innocence and integrity. He basically holds fast in stating that he had done nothing so wicked that he deserved his suffering. What’s fascinating is that he then goes on to agree with his friends’ premise that the wicked deserve, and ultimately receive, their just desserts. Job finds himself an exception to the general rule of his and his friends’ moral world-view.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself circling back to the concept of rules and exceptions that I’ve written about before. Life is filled with general observable patterns in which choices and consequences connect both positively (I choose to do the right thing, and I sleep soundly with a clear conscience) and negatively (I choose to do the wrong thing, have a guilty conscience, get caught, and face negative reciprocations of my wrong-doing). These patterns are the foundation of Morality Tales both in medieval times as well as today. But there are exceptions to those general rules in a fallen world in which sinful individuals have the free will to make choices. Amanda Knox was railroaded and convicted of a murder she didn’t commit. Jack the ripper was never found nor punished.

Jesus was adamant with his disciples that we are to reserve judgment of others. Job’s friends have made judgments about Job without having all of the knowledge or facts of the situation. Job has made judgments about God without having all of the knowledge or facts of the situation. As a disciple of Jesus, I’m called to humbly admit when I don’t have the right to judge another person, and to graciously forgive when I do. Jesus offers no exemptions to the Law of Love.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.