Biblical explanation
Satan challenged Job's motives: "Doth Job fear God for nought?" Job 1:9 Satan argued that Job served God only because God blessed him. Job then suffered severe losses despite being described as: "a perfect and an upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil." Job 1:8 Job's friends repeatedly assumed his suffering must have been caused by hidden sin. God eventually rebuked them: "Ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right." Job 42:7 The book therefore rejects the simplistic idea that suffering always proves personal guilt. At the end, God restores Job, although the book does not answer every philosophical question about suffering. Job shows that righteous people can suffer and that human beings do not always know the larger reasons behind their suffering.
Key takeaway
Discipleship applies the gospel to the whole life: body, mind, relationships, work, finances, and worship. Healthy choices and faithful habits do not earn salvation; they are grateful stewardship of the life God has entrusted to us and practical ways to serve others.