9 His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job 2:9-10 (NIV)

Suffering is one of the most devastating of human experiences. For most individuals, physical pain is not as difficult to endure as other forms of suffering. Psychological, emotional, and spiritual suffering are often debilitating, making life seem not worth living.

If any life seemed to deserve relief through death, it was Job’s. Yet, Job recognized the folly of his wife’s suggestion “to curse God and die” (v. 9), and he wisely rejected her counsel. Job stabilized himself by realizing that God was providentially in control of his life. While Satan was the direct cause of all his troubles, he was able to do only what God permitted. Job recognized that his trouble was, in this sense, “from God” (v. 10).

Job’s spiritual stability came from his settled conviction that God had a purpose in his suffering. Job refused to accept the lie that what we call “good” was exclusively from God and what we call “evil” was solely from Satan. Both good and bad were superintended and administered by a good and gracious God. Both prosperity and suffering have a purpose, and Job never sinned by railing against God.

Since the loving Father is in control, no human suffering can ever render life not worth living. It is wrong, therefore, for human beings to usurp God’s prerogatives by deliberately ending life whether by suicide or euthanasia. By definition, suicide claims that life is one’s own to dispose of when one wills. Euthanasia claims a “compassionate” right to end life under a legal statute granting authority to act on knowledge no mortal has ever fully known—the purpose and meaning of another’s life. No person is free to take their own life or the life of another.

article from Karios Journal

First Baptist Church of Perryville is located at 4800 W. Pulaski Hwy., Perryville, MD