Man’s Job
Duty in the Midst of Suffering: A Lesson from Job and Pandora
The story of Job and the Greek myth of Pandora's box share a central theme: suffering is an inevitable part of life. More importantly, they both suggest that in the midst of human suffering, it is man's duty to overcome it.
1 | Pandora’s Box
The myth begins with Pandora receiving a mysterious box from Greek God, Zeus, with explicit instructions not to open it. Like any of us would wonder: why have a box and not know its contents?
When Pandora opened the box, she unleashed many evil spirits into the world. Spirits of destruction, chaos, and despair spread across the globe to haunt its inhabitants. Houses burned, crops turned to ash, and loved ones perished. Yet among these evil spirits emerged one different from the rest—a small and humble spirit of hope. Despite losing everything, with hope for a better future, the villagers focused their time and energy on rebuilding all that had been lost. Eventually, their towns and lives were restored to a state even better than before.
The story of Pandora can be approached from two opposing angles. On one hand, we may focus our attention on why Pandora opened the box, much like how many of us may question why Adam and Eve disobeyed God. On the other hand, we can focus our attention on the end of the story—on how human endure and eventually emerge from the depths of despair.
2 | The Story of Job
Like Pandora, Job faced misfortune from powers beyond his control, despite being blameless and sinless (Job 1:8). His story illustrates that life consists of inevitable ups and downs. You can have everything, as Job did (Job 1:3), and in the next chapter of your life, you can lose it all through circumstances beyond your control. Nature is random. There are peaks and troughs. The cycle of chaos and order remains constant.
Life presents challenges and is by no means easy. Yet when misfortune strikes and one finds themselves in life's wilderness, neither story permits humanity to fall into dismay and become aimless wanderers. Rather, the protagonist's name suggests that it is man's job to begin the process of renewal and restoration. When Job focuses on rebuilding his home, livelihood, and personhood, he ultimately gains more than he previously possessed (Job 42:10-17).
The Christian Perspective
The traditional Christian interpretation of Job's story often emphasizes maintaining faith in God Jehovah, regardless of circumstances. This view stems from the belief that Job had all his possessions restored because he remained loyal to God. This interpretation suggests that believers should never, under any circumstance, waver in their belief that Jehovah is God. However, this story transcends specific religious affiliations.
The Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible, predating even the introduction of Yahweh, who first appears in Exodus. The text explicitly states that Job came from the land of Uz (Job 1:1), indicating he was not an Israelite and had no connection to the God of Abraham. More importantly, the story illustrates fundamental truths about life and its inherent patterns, such as that hope, perseverance, responsibility and competence will trump suffering.
Even if one interprets the God in this story as Jehovah, the essential lesson remains unchanged: God does not directly rebuild order—that is man’s job.