Job, Sickeningly Patient!

I have never been thrilled by the Biblical character, Job!  In the first place he just seemed, to me, to be the kind of person who "mealy-mouthed" around and sort of poor-me'd his circumstances (and he was plenty wealthy to begin with with almost a Midas touch).  It was a way too Christian approach for me.  I saw him as two-faced, less than mordacious, or anybody's dog who would hunt.  I really couldn't stand his attitude and this may have stemmed from the fact that I knew someone just like this, who was real old like Job, and I despised it when he conquered me and I had to listen to his whinings.

My mother would talk about a friend of hers who had the "patience of Job".   My brother and I had cynical views about this friend and thought she should deal with her problems, quit supporting a bunch of her loser relatives, and tell them to get a job and quit mooching off of her.   Patience was not a virtue I was interested in pursuing.

In the end, it paid off for Job.  He has a book in the Bible named for him and that's not easy to come by.
I still don't like Job.  His book is a big authority and his faith is undeniable.  But I don't have to like him in the process.  I think it is called non-identification.