In the Book of Job we are introduced to a prosperous character, Job, who is always careful to avoid any wrongdoing. Job is blessed with what many people hope for such as a wife and many healthy children, herds of animals, and a profound appreciation for God. Satan believes and challenges God that if he were to punish Job, Job would curse God’s name. Although faced with many hurdles so abruptly, with the sudden death of all of his children and livestock, Job did not curse Gods name. Unsatisfied with Job’s reaction Satan “…afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” (A127) Job proceeded to curse the day of his birth, “Let the day perish wherein I was born…” This story tells us of a man who is forced to experience terrible and embarrassing hardships and how he reacts to them. Job is a strong and upright man who loves God, but we see following these hardships that he is left contemplating his life.
In recent news, a student at Rutgers University was placed into a completely mortifying situation. Tyler Clementi was an accomplished 18 year old student who unfortunately was faced with must adversity due to his sexual orientation. He was secretly filmed during a sexual encounter with another male by his roommate, Dharun Ravi. His roommate proceeded to broadcast this footage online for the world to see. Dharun Ravi posted on twitter, “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude, Yay.” (NY Times) By broadcasting this private footage, Ravi was in a sense punishing Tyler for his actions simply because he was different. Just like Job, Tyler Clementi was left questioning what he could have done to deserve such terrible treatment. Unfortunately, unlike Job, Clementi was unable to come to grips with himself and ended up choosing suicide to heal his pain. This again relates to the Book of Job because it left the public curious and wondering, why do so many terrible things happen to so many accomplished people with promising futures?
