The Book of Joe

A Modern Alternative to the Book of Job

Here’s an uplifting story for you. It’s a modern retelling of the Book of Job, with a twist: called The Book of Joe…

Joe was having a pretty tough time in his life. Up until not so long ago – everything had been going well. His business was in great shape. His health was good. His marriage was warm. And Joe felt good about life. Until a few days ago.

But you never can tell what’s just around the corner. Can you? And that’s what Joe discovered just a few days ago. You see, out of the blue he discovered that he’d had a crooked accountant working for him who for the past 11 months had been siphoning off large sums of company money to spend on a woman he’d become infatuated with. Unfortunately his actions had been discovered too late – which meant that there was sizeable hole in Joe’s company’s accounts which, while Joe, was clearly going to be exonerated for any wrongdoing, still meant that his company was about to face a touch-and-go situation concerning whether or not it would be able to survive the crises that had fallen upon it. As a result, his stress levels were going through the roof. And he and his wife were currently not talking to each other, because they each felt that the other should have spotted some of the financial discrepancies that had been building up over the year. My oh my, how things can change in just a few days.

At a loss as to what to do, Joe, feeling like a broken man, got down on his knees to pray. To pray for help. To pray for guidance and for a way out of the situation. And to pray for understanding regarding why something like this should be allowed to happen to him. After all, as people go, Joe was a pretty good guy. He gave money to charity regularly. He was kind. Considerate. Spiritual even. So it was really knocking the stuffing out of him to think that God could ever have allowed something like this to happen to him. Surely he should have been protected from things like this? Aren’t things like this supposed to happen to other people; leaving Joe to comfortably read about them in the Sunday papers in the security of his home? And now it looked like Joe’s story would become a part of other people’s Sunday entertainment, or news, or should it really be enternewsment, or newstertainment, it was all becoming so muddled. And any vestiges of security that Joe thought he could count on had evaporated in the process.

So, Joe prayed… and he prayed… and he prayed. And God heard his prayers. And you know what the answer was? Nothing! God heard. But there was no illuminating flash of inspiration. No sudden sense of security and deep knowing. No liberating peace of mind and divinely inspired insight into the meaning of life. Just nothing. Zilch. Diddly squat. Nowt. Blanko. And that made Joe feel even worse. Even more insecure. Even more puzzled. Perturbed. Anxious. Tense, agitated and very nervous. What the beeeep was happening to him? Where the beeeep was God? What the beeeep was he supposed to do?

As his agitation levels increased he decided to go to a place of communal worship in the hope that by visiting such a sanctuary; a supposed meeting point between heaven and earth, so to speak, it might persuade God to reveal Himself to Joe in some way and to shed some light on the reason for his predicament.

So, he went to his local place of worship. He knew it well; he’d been going there for years. In fact his family had been members for many generations. When he arrived he knew he was in luck, because the priest was there. He smiled at the priest. The priest smiled at him. And they shook hands warmly. ‘Joe, you don’t look too good’, the priest said ‘would you like a cup of tea?’. Joe accepted the priest’s kindly offer, and soon he and the priest were in animated conversation, talking in depth about Joe’s predicament. At the end of the conversation the priest opened the Holy Book of his religion and explained to Joe what he had been doing wrong, according to the tenets of the Holy Book and what he should do, according to these tenets, in order to be ‘right with God’ and to begin to adhere to the required formula to allow God to start to improve his dicey situation. Joe listened avidly and vowed to implement the changes in his life immediately. And so he did. Giving Hermes a run for his money, he implemented the priest’s directives, based on his interpretation of the Holy Book, at double quick speed. And then he waited for things to turn around. And most of all he waited for God to reveal himself in some way too. And you know what? Things just got worse – and there was still no sign that God was listening.

As the days turned into weeks Joe’s faith was stretched practically to breaking point. In desperation he decided visit a priest from one of the other major religions. Maybe, he wondered desperately, maybe the religion he was a member of was not as accurate as he’d hoped it was in its interpretation of God and God’s will. And maybe it didn’t have all of the answers after all about the spiritual realm?

When he arrived he knew he was in luck, because the priest was there. He worked up a smile for the priest. The priest smiled at him. And as they met each other they shook hands warmly. ‘Hello’, Joe said, ‘My name’s Joe’. ‘Joe, you don’t look too good’, the priest said, he could see through Joe’s forced smile, ‘would you like a cup of tea?’, he offered. Joe accepted this priest’s offer, and soon he and the priest of this religion were in animated conversation, talking in depth about Joe’s predicament. His doubts about the faith he’d been following and the advice he’d received from the previous priest. And, importantly, about how his faith was being pulled dangerously in all directions at once – and of his concerns regarding why God didn’t seem to be responding to his prayers in any way that Joe could notice. In fact things just seemed to be getting worse – the harder he prayed for them to get better. Having listened attentively and having offered the appropriate comments here and there at the end of the conversation the priest opened the Holy Book of his religion and explained to Joe what he had been doing wrong, according to the tenets of this Holy Book and then he explained what he needed to do, according to the tenets in this code – in order to be really ‘right with God’ and to begin to adhere to the required formula to allow God to start to improve his hazardous situation. There was of course only one true Truth and this was it – and it was only when a person followed the true Truth that they could they be sure that God was listening to their prayers and that God would answer them. Joe listened avidly and vowed to implement the changes in his life immediately. And so he did. At least as fast as before, and maybe even faster, he implemented the priest’s directives, based on his interpretation of the Holy Book of his religion. And then he waited for things to turn around. And most of all he waited for God to reveal himself in some way too. And you know what? Things continued to get worse and there was still no sign that God was listening.

As the days turned to weeks and the weeks became months Joe’s faith was trammelled even more. He began to doubt that God existed. Reaching a point of abject desperation he decided to try one last time. This time he would visit one of the places of worship of one of the other World Religions. Hopefully he’d find God there; because he hadn’t found him anywhere else he’d tried. When he arrived he wondered whether he would be in luck. He noticed that the local priest was there. He looked desperately at the priest. The priest smiled at him in return. As they met they shook hands – and the priest could sense the tension in Joe’s grip. ‘My name’s Joe’, Joe said again… ‘Joe, you don’t look too good’, the priest said, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Joe was, by now, a deeply troubled man. He offered Joe a cup of tea: ‘would you like a cup of tea?’. Joe declined. The priest could tell that Joe was feeling defensive and hesitant, even unsure about whether or not he was in the right place. So he did his best to make Joe feel at home. He knew Joe had come to the right place. And after a few minutes had passed his genuine, friendly manner helped to bring some peace to Joe’s mood and soon Joe and the priest were in deep conversation, talking in depth about Joe’s troubles and – as it turned out – Joe’s test of faith. Having listened attentively and having offered the appropriate comments here and there at the end of the conversation the priest opened the Holy Book of his religion and explained to Joe what he had been doing wrong, according to the tenets of this Holy Book and then he explained what he needed to do, according to the tenets of his faith – in order to really be ‘right with God’ and to begin to adhere to the required formula to allow God to start to improve his unpredictable situation. The priest explained that, while he believed in Universal Salvation, there was of course only one true Truth and this was it – and it was only when a person followed the true Truth that they could be sure that God was listening to their prayers and that God would answer them – in this life! Joe listened uncertainly and decided to give the priest’s directions a try – a final try – in this life, to see whether or not God would help, whether or not God was even listening and whether or not God even existed. And you know what? Things just got worse. I mean they turned bad with a capital B. And then Joe’s faith snapped! Suddenly he began to question the foundations of everything he’d ever believed. The interpretations of the faith he’d grown up in. The interpretations of the other faiths he’d turned to. Whether or not God really existed at all – or whether everything that existed was just some random accident – meaning that life had potentially no meaning! And that scared him. And as he cried himself to sleep (his wife by now was sleeping in the spare room) the trellis upon which he’d carefully built all of his conceptions about God, as had been presented to him from childhood, before he was old enough to evaluate them properly, collapsed around him. Leaving him, psychologically and spiritually naked. And he drifted into sleep…

His sleep pattern followed similar troubled lines to that of recent weeks. A collection of nightmares which, any psychologist worth his or her salt would understand, were the inward representations of his outer waking reality. In one troubled dream he found himself walking along a road and on either side there were a variety of buildings, each representing a place of worship of a certain creed. And outside of each one stood a representative of the faith in question and each representative was saying ‘This way for the true Truth…don’t get waylaid by the others’…and as each representative said this he pointed at the other places of worship… and at the other priests. Joe understood that this meant that all of the priests were asserting that their particular religion was the true way and all of the others were in error. At first this troubled Joe even more, until, as the minutes went by he noticed a kind of surreal humour to it all. And then it started; first he let out a great sigh of relief… which was quickly followed, moments later, by a chuckle, which then became a laugh, which then turned into a belly laugh. And as he… laughed out loud… at the madness of it all he noticed that at the end of the road near a small stream and some beautiful trees it seemed as if a sunbeam was taking shape. The shape of a person. A woman. The most beautiful woman Joe had ever seen.

‘Does this answer your prayer’ the woman asked Joe, with a voice that sounded like the most friendly voice you could ever expect to hear. ‘What do you mean’, replied Joe? ‘I mean, you’ve been praying to me and asking for me to show you that I exist in some way – does this answer your prayer?’ responded the woman. Joe said, confused by the welcoming sound of the woman’s voice and by the fact that her form was clearly female, ‘Um, well, I don’t mean to be ungrateful. But it was God I was really looking for’. The woman smiled and said: ‘You still don’t understand. Do you? Let me ask you this: do you think that God might embody all of the positive attributes of men?’ ‘Certainly, of course’, replied Joe. ‘And do you think that the same Creator God might equally embody all of the positive attributes of women?’ the woman questioned Joe. ‘I’d never quite thought about it that way before’, replied Joe, ‘but yes, I suppose so. I suppose that the same God who made men would equally embody female attributes.’ ‘And then let me ask you this Joe’, said the woman: ‘do you always wear the same clothes in every situation?’ ‘What’s that got to do with God?’, asked Joe. ‘You’ll see’, said the woman. ‘Okay, no, of course I don’t. I wear different clothes in different circumstances and for different reasons.’ As he uttered this unplanned profound response it was as if a dawning was beginning to occur. The depth of what he’d just said began to make itself known to him. ‘But are you not always the same person: regardless of how you choose to dress?’, asked the woman. Joe smiled. ‘But all the priests I talked to about you assumed that you’re a man.’, Joe said to the very feminine being who stood before him.

The woman smiled again – and Joe smiled back as she said ‘Even God’s not immune to the effects of sexism’. ‘Sometimes some people see only as much as they want to see. And, Joe, whatever anyone sees can always only ever truly be an imperfect impression of who and what God really is. Can the finite comprehend the infinite?’, added the woman rhetorically. Joe said, ‘I doubt it.’ ‘Then you’ll understand when I ask: can a finite person, any finite person, no matter who they are, ever comprehend an infinite God?’ ‘I suppose not’, replied Joe. ‘You know, Joe, even what you see before you now is just an impression of the reality of my Great Reality.’ And as the woman said this her form began to change, to that of an Caucasian aged man with a long white beard and a flowing robe, and Joe realised that this form looked much more like he’d expected God to look like, but then the being changed again into the form of a younger Semitic looking man who was sat on a throne, and Joe understood that this too was a form he would have naturally related to… but then the being turned into a black woman who was dancing in tune with the rhythm of life…and this form challenged Joe’s accepted traditional beliefs again… and then Joe understood what this meant… and on and on the changes went, reflecting all races and all creeds, past and present. And Joe understood. He understood what God was revealing to him in this very symbolic way. And as the understanding resonated with his innermost being … the Holy Being resumed her original form.

‘What have you learned by this?’ asked the Woman. ‘That God is Greater than any one person’s, or any one religion’s interpretation of who or what God is. That God is One! One with a capital O! And that any human interpretation – can only ever be a partial interpretation of God. Just as my impression of you can only ever correspond to the limited awareness I have of you, in the context of my finite nature.’ ‘Well done!’, replied the woman. ‘So, whose advice shall I follow regarding how to sort my life out, if all of the different faiths are just partial understandings of who you really are. What formula represents the best creed for me to follow?’ There was one other piece of the puzzle that Joe needed to slot into place. ‘Let me ask you this Joe. What message do you sense underlies all of the mature faiths that exist?’ said the holy woman with a knowing look in her eyes. ‘Um, I guess Love.’ replied Joe, adding quickly ‘but sometimes you’d never believe it by the way some of the adherents of some of the world’s faiths behave’. ‘I agree – and what some people do in My Name is very sad. Even my message of Love has not been immune to editing and revision as faith has turned into religion – which is why I keep re-presenting it. And this is why sharing the message of Love is even more vital, is it not?’ the holy woman asked. ‘I guess so.’, responded Joe as he sensed that something important was happening.

‘Joe, let me ask you to think about this. If you read several books that were originally written by the same person, but which had suffered a certain amount of overlay and alteration due to successive copying and editing, but, you could still glean the underlying message of the original author, for instance, perhaps a message of love, in amongst the many human errors that had crept in, what would you conclude?’ ‘I’d conclude that the original author had been writing about love – and that anything to the contrary was not the product of the original author’ he said. And as Joe voiced this reply it was as if a light had been switched on in his head. And as this light radiated throughout him the woman kissed him gently on the forehead – and then he awoke, filled with a deep sense of peace and greater understanding.

As the days and weeks went by, Joe found that he could now read the message of God that was expressed ‘between the lines’, so to speak, clearly in all the world’s mature religions. In the works of diverse saints and mystics. And in the actions of all those who promote peace. It was four letter word. And the word was Love. Love. God was Love and Love was God. And while it would never be possible for a finite human being to fully comprehend the magnificence that is God, that was okay, because the most important aspect of God was comprehendible to all. Love. And that was the aspect of his – or her – personality that God most wanted understood and emulated.

You know what? Things began to change for Joe. Inwardly it was like the proverbial bolt out of the blue. Outwardly, things took a little longer. But change they did. As Joe began to see God everywhere – while knowing that what he saw was only ever a partial impression, yet the deep message was very clear, the message of Love. And Joe began to actively live the way of Love in his life and he began to trust The God of Love and the more he did, the closer to God he felt. And the closer to God he felt, the more Love he had to share.

By the time a year had passed Joe looked back on that period of trouble as really being a blessing in disguise. He managed to turn his business back around. He and his wife were getting on really well again. And his health was doing much better too. And Joe’s faith? Stronger than it had ever been before! So strong that he decided to write a book about his experience. And with a smile on his face he decided to call his book ‘The Book of Joe’.