Apple According To The Book Of Jobs —Sylvanus Nwafor

I am inspired to find a relationship between the Apple Macintosh, the biblical Job and the life of the co-founder of Apple Macintosh computers, Steve Jobs. It seemed to me that these men (Job and Jobs) were men who were passionate about solving problems.

In Job of the Bible, we have a man noted as having a perfect, upright and prosperous beginning. Thereafter, he had to battle, not only with physical ailment, but also with mounting pressure to denounce what he passionately believed in. His convictions were called to question by family and friends. He was going through a very difficult phase of life. Instead of consoling and supporting him (which was probably their initial mission), his friends ended up pouring streams of invectives on him making him regret the day he was born. He would have been better off single than having a wife tell him point-blank to denounce his belief in God and call it quits. But then this Job remained steadfast, unwavering and wittingly holding on despite his grief, calamities and physical ailment. He was surrounded with the wrong set of ‘friends’ and family. At the end, what he lost was restored and ‘his latter was greater than his former’.

In our Jobs of today, we find a man born on February 24, 1955 in Palo Alto, San Francisco to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah Jandali; adopted from infancy by Paul and Clara Jobs; graduated from Homestead High School in Los Altos and later admitted to Reed College, Portland, Oregon but failed to complete his university education as he opted out after just one semester to start Apple in his family garage with his childhood friend, Steve Wozniak and thereon rose to become a multi-millionaire before age 30 and one of world’s greatest innovators. To quote President Barack Obama, ‘Steve was among the greatest of American innovators, brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world and talented enough to do it’. The same Jobs was known to have battled with ill health, having been diagnosed as suffering from pancreatic cancer in August 2004. Thereafter, he went through a liver transplant in 2009. His effort to seek medical treatment occasionally saw him taking a leave of absence from work. The same ill health forced him to take another leave of absence in January 2011 which finally led to his official resignation as CEO of Apple on 24 August, 2011. Thereon, the ailment, no doubt, took a huge toll on him, leading to his death on 6 October, 2011.

We can see similarities in the lives of these two great men. Though one gave in to death, the other resolved to fight to the very end. And yes, he did fight to the end and overcame. But then our own Jobs gave in to ill health. Unlike Jobs who called it quits, Job never did, at least not until his restoration and healing came.

And then the Apple, which, I guess, you didn’t have a fair share of your bite enough to keep the doctors away, remains a symbol of Jobs’ brilliance, passion and energy on which countless innovations which enrich and improve lives were made. I had the privilege of learning how to use the computer with the Apple Macintosh back in 1997 during my internship. My experience with the computer then was that it was durabile, rugged and reliable. System crash and virus attack were quite strange terms to me then. But then that same year was a remarkable one for Apple Computers Incorporated under Steve Jobs’ supervision as Interim CEO and Chairman, as it went on to become a leading computer outfit. Apple Macintosh and other innovative products like the iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac as described by an admirer are the most useful tools we’ve ever had in our history. Michael Bloomberg, New York City Mayor, said in a tribute to Jobs after his passing: “Tonight, America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein, and whose ideas will shape the world for generations to come. As a proponent of good design, Jobs further reinforced my belief in functionality in design when he said ‘Design is not how it looks, it’s how it works’. I wish I could personally thank you for the Apple computer. It gave me a firm foundation in the knowledge and use of computers. It inspired my love for computer generated graphics and charted a career I am so passionate about today. Still I say a very big thank you for coming and making your contribution that has left our world a better place.

Though you gave in to pancreatic cancer that led to your death, your legacy forever thrives. You have left an indelible mark in the sands of time. Though ‘I’m sorry its true. We’re born, we live for a brief instant and we die. It’s been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much – if at all’. – Steve Jobs, 1996. It is noted you died peacefully surrounded by your wife, Laurene Powel and family. May this peace continue to keep you in eternal rest. Farewell Jobs, Fair well Apple!”

•Nwafor wrote from Ofada, Ogun State, Nigeria