Power to hurt each other ...
I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless! -Ecclesiastes 8:9-10,14 NLT
These verses cause me to flashback to the ending of the first Godfather movie where a young Michael Corleone has gangster leaders murdered as he becomes Godfather of his sister's child. Violent and perverted people often seek the legitimacy of the institution of religion yet are in no way attracted to following God. While I cannot relate to Michael Corleone I do resonate with the attraction of religious affirmation and the judgmental attitude that accompanies it.
The unfairness of this life is reflected in the ways that Solomon speaks of the evil being honored and how good people are often treated as bad people. Reminds me of that cynical saying: "Life is not fair and then you die." Sometimes our journey seems like that. Even so, I find in the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus Christ a power that heals rather than hurts ... a power that sees people as ones whom God loves ... a force that brings love and hope to the world.
Help us dear Lord Jesus Christ to see past our cynicism and embrace the love that you showed us on the cross.
Not even the wisest people ...
In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim. -Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 NLT
Socrates once said "True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing." In truth, even our greatest minds know very little when their knowledge is compared to what there is to know about their area of expertise. In this passage Solomon seems to agree with that assessment. Yet there seems to be an intellectualism that permeates society that communicates an idea that is contrary to what Socrates and Solomon came to understand.
There is something about knowledge, even a lit bit of it, that twists us and causes us to do believe that we are more than we really are. In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul acknowledged that while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens us. I find a humility in those words that is so hard to grasp. In a sense, knowledge is all about us but love is all about others. Perhaps that is why wisdom is not all about knowledge?
Lord, keep us free from pride. Help us to embrace the humility of love.
In the face of death ...
Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked. -Ecclesiastes 8:7-8 NLT
A good friend recently shared with me her list of things that she would die for. I loved the list - something like that has a way of putting the things of life in perspective. I suspect that there are things that you would die for. Soldiers often risk all in battle telling the world that they would die for their country. Misguided teenage suicide bombers believe that they are dying for God and their religion. The world is replete with heroes like police and firefighters who risk their lives daily.
Solomon's words speak to me about the brevity of life and the importance of living 'today' to the fullest. Having a 'to die for' list puts 'today' in perspective a bit. It reminds me of how Jesus Christ laid down his life for us when he was crucified. Before he was sentenced to die he told Pontius Pilate that he could call 10,000 angels to rescue him. Yet, in the face of death, he proclaimed to all who would hear his story, then and now, that he loved us enough to die for us.
Lord, help us today to ponder the brevity of life and the importance of living today as it may be our last.
Wisdom is always distant ...
I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn't work. Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find. I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. ... “This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle. Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for.” [Ecclesiastes 7:23-25,27-28]
Is it possible to be wise apart from God? Now I am not asking if one is able to be brilliant, in an intellectual sense, apart from God - it seems that many intellectuals are agnostics or atheists. In a sense, I am asking if one can be smart and unwise at the same time. Looking at what Solomon says here it certainly seems possible. In my thinking wisdom is an issue of the heart and not the head. Consequentially even the most intellectually challenged can be wise.
This idea speaks to me and helps me to understand why Solomon, the purported wisest man of his time, says that wisdom "is always distant and difficult to find". Thinking will not always bring wisdom to you. Sometimes wisdom is only found by trusting the Lord with all of your heart. Often the path to wise living can only be found through prayer. To answer my original question, I do not think it possible to be wise apart from God. It is a matter of having a new heart.
Teach us to be wise Lord. Help us to trust you with our heart and not lean on the thoughts of our head.
Both come from God ...
Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?
Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
Remember that nothing is certain in this life. [Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 NLT]
As wise as Solomon was he absolutely got it wrong in these verses. Yet many perceive God in this way. Well meaning and faithful people throughout the years have viewed God as some sort of divine puppet master pulling the strings one way and bringing blessings but causing hard times by pulling different strings. It is an ancient view that was totally destroyed and set on end by Jesus Christ when he came and showed us what God, and his kingdom, is really like.
Jesus Christ told Phillip that anyone who has seen him has seen God. In that statement Jesus put to rest any idea that God makes things crooked and inflicts us with hard times. For in the gospels we see in Christ a God who is consistently moved by love and compassion. We do not see some sort of divine puppet master but one who consistently blesses everyone that he touches with his hands and his words. In Jesus we find the one certain thing in life - love.
Help us to see you clearly dear Lord as the one who is called Love.
Finishing is better than starting.
Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride. -Ecclesiastes 7:8 NLT
Life is full of unfinished tasks. Often we start things that we never finish. Many times life's chores are so much harder than we imagined when we started them. It is so easy to start things but not so easy to finish. It is hard to hear words of needing patience at the beginning of a task but it is not long before we understand how impatient we can be when difficulties come and the end seems so far away. Patience often tests our pride. Humility is needed to finish.
The prophet Micah tells us what is required to finish life well. He says that a good life is all about doing the right things, being compassionate and walking humbly with God. I think that each of these embody, in a sense, what it means to be patient. Being patient means that we see past the present day's difficulties and, with hope, humbly do the things today that help us to finish well. Sometimes, if we are patient, we will experience the satisfaction of finishing what we started.
Help us Lord to confront the pride that keeps us from finishing. Teach us to walk humbly.
A good reputation ...
A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born. Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies — so the living should take this to heart.
[Ecclesiastes 7:1 NLT]
Interesting how Solomon connects our reputation to our death. Perhaps it is only in death that our reputation is fully known? Maybe the eulogies spoken at our funerals say more about us than the way that we perceive our own lives?
I am reminded of the images painted of Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and how he was given the opportunity to reflect on the reputation that he had earned in his life. Would that all of us had the ability to see ourselves that way.
What do you think you would see if you were, like Scrooge, taken on a trip down memory lane? Do you think that it would, like Scrooge, affect your present day behaviors? Or what if you were shown the day of your death - would it affect you at all? I have given several eulogies - contemplating the life of one who has died gives one occasion to think about their own life and how they would like to be remembered ... and the legacy they will leave.
Help us today dear Lord to build a reputation that honors you. Cause it to be a legacy of love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)