Once upon a time, in the land of Uz

1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. Job 1:1–3 (ESV)

Once upon a time, in the land of Uz, there lived a man named Job with immense wealth and influence. More importantly, he had a big family with seven sons and three daughters.

As the father of two sons, I must admit I’m envious of his three daughters. I love my sons, but I’ve always been curious about what it would be like to have a daughter. Would raising a daughter be different from raising a son? If so, what are the differences? I don’t know the answer, but I’m certain Job did.

He also had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, and I asked chatGPT.

Estimate Job’s wealth in today’s dollar. Job had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants. Job is assumed to be alive during patriarchal period, around the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

After a few seconds, chatGPT burped this out.

📈 Job’s Wealth Today ≈ $50 million USD

This would place him among the ultra-wealthy of his time — a true magnate in the ancient Near East.

I wouldn’t mind being the ultra-wealthy of my time — a true magnate in the modern East Asia. I would certainly enjoy security, comfort, power and status that uber wealth would have given me. A big family that lacks nothing sounds too good to be true.

I have read the story of Job multiple times in the past. When I read the story of Job again this year, instead of coveting Job’s enormous wealth, I found myself asking what attributes do I need to be “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil”?

Moral fortitude, strength to do what is right even when it is difficult, unpopular, and costly, is not innate. It needs to be cultivated by healthy dose of self-awareness, reflections, and concerted effort over a long period of time.

When learning about ethics from textbooks and sermons, in the absence of real consequences, ideals of living out my belief is quite simple.

Be a man. Do the right thing!

But in real life, decisions carry weights. Every choice comes with a trade-off, and doing the right things is often inconvenient and costly. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that moral fortitude is one of the rarest traits I’ve encountered. Few even attempt to build the strength necessary to resist evil, and even fewer manage to build anything substantial. This is why, while we celebrate the wealthy, we immortalize those with valiant moral fortitude through statues and holidays.

The core paradox is this: building a vast fortune appears exceptionally more difficult than cultivating strong moral fortitude. Building a vast fortune rely on a wider set of tools and environment: a huge amount of inheritance, great business acumen, favorable market conditions, and legal and societal systems to keep the money.

Instead, every individual possesses the agency to control their actions, mind, and thoughts, and thus, the ability to do what is right. Yet, those with clear moral values seem markedly lacking when compared to the countless ultra-rich individuals among us.

I am also guilty of spending many waking hours preoccupied with accumulating material wealth. I perform my daily duties as an employee, all in the hope for even larger W-2 checks. I contemplate, for far too often, ways to increase my wealth through frugal personal finance, savvy investments strategies, and tax-saving tips. Am I blinded by life’s demands that I criminally under-invest in the true wealth, a life full of conscientious decisions guided by uncompromised moral principles?

I frequently think about how my sons would view me as a father? What legacies would I like to impart in them? What memories would stay with them long after I am gone?

While I recognize immense importance of providing them with resources to thrive in this world, the greatest gift may be consistently making difficult, unpopular, and costly decisions that are aligned with the moral principles I teach them.

My sincere hope is that my sons remember me as a father who embodied moral strength through gratitude, reverence, and humility, free from self-righteousness.

There are many ways to measure one’s life. Needless to say, how I am going to measure my own life is going to dictate many decisions I will make in the future.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

As I near 40, I am grateful for the timeless lesson and timely realization from the scriptures. Most importantly, I am thankful for the gift of life that God has given me.