Have you seen my servant Job? Early in secondary school, among a group of young boys chattering away, someone claimed that anyone who read the Book of Job through would become insane. Yours truly tested the tale and remained in his right mind. Phew! It was a tall tale.  Have you perused the Book of Job or at least scanned it through? If you have, you cannot miss out on the fact that as far as material and other temporal blessings are concerned, God blessed the man Job! Great children, protection for his family, himself and all he had; stupendous wealth, and he prospered in everything that he put his hand. What more could a man desire? Who would not want to be the wealthiest person in the East or anywhere else?  This is how the Book introduces him: There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters… He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. Did you notice how the introduction of Job began with intangible values and character before it moved on to temporal blessings? Please do not just tuck this point in one corner of your mind. Ruminate it in your heart deeply. Job was very successful in life, but he believed there was more to life than the abundance of things that a man possessed. Do you believe that there is more to life than the things you have or do not have? The Church at Laodicea was proud of its perception of itself, but God knew they were not what they portrayed themselves to be: You claim to be rich and successful and to have everything you need. But you don’t know how bad off you are. You are pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. Do you project an image of yourself that is not who you really are, so that your reputation with people is not the same as your integrity with God? People see us, but God knows us. I have always said that our reputation is how people see us, but our integrity is how God knows us. We can rig the first, but we cannot manipulate the latter, which is what puts us in good stead for a truly successful life.  If it were a crime to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ and they charged you with that crime in court, would you be found guilty as charged? Are you known to be a good person, but no one can really place your faith or where you stand? Worse still is if God knows you as someone to be neither here nor there. Lukewarm! Nominal! Now, God asked Satan if he had seen His servant Job. Satan can only see you from the outside. He cannot determine who you really are on the inside. Therefore, he has to test and tempt you to find out if your claims about yourself are so. He would also test God’s testimony about you. Because Satan does not know, he assumes. At other times, if you know who you are, he tempts you to believe you are who you are not.  Satan also accuses believers that they are pretending to be who they are not. For the avoidance of doubt, if you are a child of God, you are who God declares you to be. Satan not only accused Job of insincerity- of serving God only for the benefits he gets, he also indirectly accused God of not doing the right thing, by prospering a person whose heart was not right with Him: You (God) have always protected him and his home and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything that he does. Look how rich he is! I noticed something in this fascinating narrative. Whenever God testified concerning Job, His reference was always about his character, but Satan’s descriptions were about the things Job possessed. Sounds much like the way man thinks! Man tends to define people based on the things they have or have achieved and not upon whom they really are. God has not changed, He still blesses His people, and He looks at the heart and not the outward appearance. He cares that you not only have the things you need but much more to give. However, He places a premium on what you are within and on your character. Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you seen my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth- a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil. Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, Job fears God, but not without good reason! You have always protected him and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But take away everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face! Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin- he blesses you only because you bless him. A man will give up everything he has to save his life. But take away his health and he will surely curse you to your face! God blessed Job. He was not a self-made man. Are you? Many people think that integrity of character and material prosperity cannot go together. Let me say this upfront, if God is involved in your life, you do not have to go against His will to prosper. You do not have to cut corners and cut throats. God by His covenant through Christ, is committed to blessing His people. In fact, He has already done that! If you belong to God, He has a testimony concerning you: His word testifies that you are a New Creation; you are called, justified, glorified and anointed. You have the capacity and liberty to do what is right because sin does not have dominion over you. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He has given you all things that pertain to life and godliness. There is a benediction upon your life to do well in this life.  Satan had some damaging accusations against Job, which we all will do well to see they do not apply to any of us. He accuses Job of lip service. Job is patronizing, revering and honouring God only because he gets blessings and protection from Him.  He suggests that Job will curse, abandon and drop God like a hot potato when push comes to shove in his life. However, God categorically makes it clear that He knows the man better. Not everyone has a price! Does God know you better? Are His testimonies concerning you the practice and experience of your life, or are you, as it were, guilty of Satan’s accusations?  Even though we make mistakes along the way and sometimes sin against the Lord, we must get back up, repent and quickly get our hearts right with Him. Let your heart be an open book before the Lord.  Whenever our hearts make us feel guilty and remind us of our failures, we know that God is much greater and more merciful than our conscience, and He knows everything there is to know about us. God boasts about us His people. Satan accuses us to our face, also before God. God grants us grace to see that His testimonies concerning us remain true so that Satan’s accusations run like water off the back of a duck. Friend, God’s testimony about you is sure! Live it! Thank you. Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.  References: Job 1; Job 1:1-2; Luke 12:15; Revelation 3:17, CEV; Job 1:1-2, 10, NLT -1 John 3:20, TPT.