The Job Show
Like any good 90's kid, I grew up adoring Jim Carrey. I still remember watching Ace Ventura: Pet Detective for the first time. I was on my living room floor at about 11 years old, watching wide eyed as Carrey's face distorted to almost-inhuman degrees in comical expressions and, just as frequently, altered his voice for increased effect. I was laughing so hard I almost peed. I was addicted.
I followed him carefully for years, sometimes disappointed by his more childish roles (at least in my "mature" adolescent estimation) such as in The Mask, but more often impressed by "classics" such as Dumb and Dumber, Liar Liar, and The Truman Show. (I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed by this, but I still spontaneously quote lines from Dumb and Dumber, and if any of my fellow 90's childhood companions are present they invariably laugh or chime in with their own beloved quotes.) As I got older, Carrey's roles got more complicated, and less frequent were the hours I spent watching movies in general. Pretty soon, I stopped following my childhood comedic hero.
However, before that evolution completely transpired, I gave some of my time to watch The Truman Show. At first I was entertained by Carrey's antics and the sheer creativity of the plot line, but my spiritual sensitivity was increasing at the time, and I soon began to see something of a parable in the story line.
Truman, the main character of the movie played by Carrey, is an average kind of guy who is unknowingly the star of a "reality show." While he believes that he is living an unnoticed normal life with real relationships, he is, in fact, surrounded by other actors and actresses who have all gathered to help form the show in which he is featuring. In an almost Matrix-like scenario, every thing that occurs is staged, part of an elaborate drama, and manipulated by behind-the-scene directors; except, of course, for Truman. Even his wife that he has been married to for years is actually just an actress! (Never mind the ethical concerns that raises...)
The plot turns when Truman begins to suspect that something is not quite right in the world in which he is living. He longs for adventure; for something genuine; something real. His passionate search for answers takes him to the end of the world, quite literally.
There are actually several aspects of this storyline that rivet me from a spiritual perspective. But the one I will limit myself to for now is that of Truman's role "on stage" before a massive invisible audience. Carrying on what he thought to be quite unmeaningful tasks, he was actually the star of something of cosmic significance, something that was inspiring millions. He possessed "free will" to do what he wanted, and yet there were mysterious forces at work set against his search for truth. In his case, it was the director of the TV show himself that had determined to keep Truman from discovering his true identity, and the truth of what his life was really all about.
As I watched, I couldn't help but wonder, Are we participating in something equally as grand and significant as Truman? Is anyone "watching"? How much do our choices really matter - our attitudes, our responses to suffering, our daily decisions to either help or hurt people? I found my answers in an unlikely source - the book of Job in the Bible.
The story of Job occurs in such a setting exactly as the one just described. A "blameless and upright man," who is otherwise living a very ordinary life, has no idea that he is stepping into a drama of universal significance. In fact, he never finds out - as far as we are told. All the same, we, the invisible audience, get to see the full picture as we look on.
Job's drama unfolds as Satan and his cohorts appear before God one day. God the Father decides to bring up Job's stellar example of obedience as a kind of bragging point to Satan, beaming with pride over him the whole while. To this, Satan sneers, claiming that Job only obeys to get more stuff, not because he loves God. With full confidence in His servant, God permits Satan to test his accusatory theory. And then the contest begins: will Job still obey God when nothing is going his way?
You probably know what happens next. Satan afflicts Job with unimaginable degrees of suffering, killing off all his children, draining his resources, and then finally, usurping Job's physical health. Job is left face down in the dust, covered in painful sores, mourning his losses. In that lowly place, the seemingly forgotten saint does what he has always done: he worships.
For the next 35 chapters, Job and his friends go round and round in theological circles, trying to make heads or tails out of what has happened to the haggard victim. In the end, after who knows how long, God breaks in to vindicate Job for his faithfulness, and at last he is recognized and rewarded. And we, the hidden spectators, applaud.
Job was never informed of the magnitude of his decision to keep believing in God. It was never revealed to him how big his invisible audience was, and how much his choices would affect people for thousands of years - even how much it impacted God. How much more inspired would he have been to persevere? In the same way, Truman didn't know to what degree his life mattered. His search was for truth's sake, not to appease an unknown crowd of onlookers. Yet both of these characters did persevere, and they were, in the end, celebrated.
Unlike Truman and Job, though, we have a portion of the script - the Bible. We can know with certainty that we are participating in something of grand significance, and if we have read the pages of this Divine Drama, we know that are choices will echo in eternity.
I am blown away by this. There is an unseen audience. Not only God, our most important "Spectator" (and active Helper!), but a host of others too: "...we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." (Hebrews 12:1) Each one of us is living out our seemingly insignificant life before a whole multitude of observers, little realizing that what we do and say matters more than we could comprehend. Who knows what heavenly contest has been wagered over your life? Who knows how many people your obedience will impact?
The reason for this reflection is that I have been finding myself feeling quite alone in suffering in the past week and a half. Due to new medicines, my body is reacting violently with pain, fatigue, and dizziness, and consequently, discouragement has tried to set in. In my more bitter moments, I have wondered, Does any of this even matter?
As I have been thirsting for some kind of meaning for all of this, I have turned to Job...and Truman. I look at their testimonies, and I realize that my life does matter. Whether I come home everyday to an applauding audience or not, I can know from the Script that Someone is watching. He is watching, and my choice to obey Him is a big deal.
For now, this is in faith. But I look forward to the day when the curtain will be pulled back, the audience revealed, and faith becomes sight. Then I expect I will hear the cheers, the shouts, and the joyous cries of those who have gone before me. Best of all, though, I will see His beaming face. And I hope, if I have lived it well, it is full of the same fatherly pride He had when He spoke of Job.
I followed him carefully for years, sometimes disappointed by his more childish roles (at least in my "mature" adolescent estimation) such as in The Mask, but more often impressed by "classics" such as Dumb and Dumber, Liar Liar, and The Truman Show. (I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed by this, but I still spontaneously quote lines from Dumb and Dumber, and if any of my fellow 90's childhood companions are present they invariably laugh or chime in with their own beloved quotes.) As I got older, Carrey's roles got more complicated, and less frequent were the hours I spent watching movies in general. Pretty soon, I stopped following my childhood comedic hero.
However, before that evolution completely transpired, I gave some of my time to watch The Truman Show. At first I was entertained by Carrey's antics and the sheer creativity of the plot line, but my spiritual sensitivity was increasing at the time, and I soon began to see something of a parable in the story line.
Truman, the main character of the movie played by Carrey, is an average kind of guy who is unknowingly the star of a "reality show." While he believes that he is living an unnoticed normal life with real relationships, he is, in fact, surrounded by other actors and actresses who have all gathered to help form the show in which he is featuring. In an almost Matrix-like scenario, every thing that occurs is staged, part of an elaborate drama, and manipulated by behind-the-scene directors; except, of course, for Truman. Even his wife that he has been married to for years is actually just an actress! (Never mind the ethical concerns that raises...)
The plot turns when Truman begins to suspect that something is not quite right in the world in which he is living. He longs for adventure; for something genuine; something real. His passionate search for answers takes him to the end of the world, quite literally.
There are actually several aspects of this storyline that rivet me from a spiritual perspective. But the one I will limit myself to for now is that of Truman's role "on stage" before a massive invisible audience. Carrying on what he thought to be quite unmeaningful tasks, he was actually the star of something of cosmic significance, something that was inspiring millions. He possessed "free will" to do what he wanted, and yet there were mysterious forces at work set against his search for truth. In his case, it was the director of the TV show himself that had determined to keep Truman from discovering his true identity, and the truth of what his life was really all about.
As I watched, I couldn't help but wonder, Are we participating in something equally as grand and significant as Truman? Is anyone "watching"? How much do our choices really matter - our attitudes, our responses to suffering, our daily decisions to either help or hurt people? I found my answers in an unlikely source - the book of Job in the Bible.
The story of Job occurs in such a setting exactly as the one just described. A "blameless and upright man," who is otherwise living a very ordinary life, has no idea that he is stepping into a drama of universal significance. In fact, he never finds out - as far as we are told. All the same, we, the invisible audience, get to see the full picture as we look on.
Job's drama unfolds as Satan and his cohorts appear before God one day. God the Father decides to bring up Job's stellar example of obedience as a kind of bragging point to Satan, beaming with pride over him the whole while. To this, Satan sneers, claiming that Job only obeys to get more stuff, not because he loves God. With full confidence in His servant, God permits Satan to test his accusatory theory. And then the contest begins: will Job still obey God when nothing is going his way?
You probably know what happens next. Satan afflicts Job with unimaginable degrees of suffering, killing off all his children, draining his resources, and then finally, usurping Job's physical health. Job is left face down in the dust, covered in painful sores, mourning his losses. In that lowly place, the seemingly forgotten saint does what he has always done: he worships.
For the next 35 chapters, Job and his friends go round and round in theological circles, trying to make heads or tails out of what has happened to the haggard victim. In the end, after who knows how long, God breaks in to vindicate Job for his faithfulness, and at last he is recognized and rewarded. And we, the hidden spectators, applaud.
Job was never informed of the magnitude of his decision to keep believing in God. It was never revealed to him how big his invisible audience was, and how much his choices would affect people for thousands of years - even how much it impacted God. How much more inspired would he have been to persevere? In the same way, Truman didn't know to what degree his life mattered. His search was for truth's sake, not to appease an unknown crowd of onlookers. Yet both of these characters did persevere, and they were, in the end, celebrated.
Unlike Truman and Job, though, we have a portion of the script - the Bible. We can know with certainty that we are participating in something of grand significance, and if we have read the pages of this Divine Drama, we know that are choices will echo in eternity.
I am blown away by this. There is an unseen audience. Not only God, our most important "Spectator" (and active Helper!), but a host of others too: "...we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." (Hebrews 12:1) Each one of us is living out our seemingly insignificant life before a whole multitude of observers, little realizing that what we do and say matters more than we could comprehend. Who knows what heavenly contest has been wagered over your life? Who knows how many people your obedience will impact?
The reason for this reflection is that I have been finding myself feeling quite alone in suffering in the past week and a half. Due to new medicines, my body is reacting violently with pain, fatigue, and dizziness, and consequently, discouragement has tried to set in. In my more bitter moments, I have wondered, Does any of this even matter?
As I have been thirsting for some kind of meaning for all of this, I have turned to Job...and Truman. I look at their testimonies, and I realize that my life does matter. Whether I come home everyday to an applauding audience or not, I can know from the Script that Someone is watching. He is watching, and my choice to obey Him is a big deal.
For now, this is in faith. But I look forward to the day when the curtain will be pulled back, the audience revealed, and faith becomes sight. Then I expect I will hear the cheers, the shouts, and the joyous cries of those who have gone before me. Best of all, though, I will see His beaming face. And I hope, if I have lived it well, it is full of the same fatherly pride He had when He spoke of Job.
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