Ecclesiastes 4&7
Hi again!
I’m writing this blog for Caleb because he is a BRAND NEW DADDY!!! That’s
right. Let’s take a moment and do a great big wiggly happy dance (don’t be
afraid to shake what your mama gave you!) and high-five a neighbor. And then
take a moment to pray for Caleb and Sarah that they may have wisdom,
understanding, peace, and guidance as they raise their new handsome baby boy!
Being a parent is SO CRAZY and awesome and hard and beautiful (and I barely
even know the extent!). I’m excited for them!
Oh Solomon. I kind of picture him writing this
book retrospectively. Looking at his life and his mistakes – this book is kinda
like an old-man’s diary of advice. And good advice it is. Mostly. Some of it kind
of makes my eyebrows go cock-eyed. Just being honest. I’m probably just not old
enough to understand completely what is going on…
But here’s what I continue to gather from
Solomon… we are inherently going to chase
after “nothing”. It’s our sinful nature to chase after money, status,
wisdom, relationships, new things, etc. We get so easily twisted up in “all”
the world has to offer and comparing ourselves and our successes to others.
What if we spend less time comparing and more time chasing after the Lord and
his kingdom?
(I feel a small rant coming on) à Okay. WHY as Christians do we still compare
ourselves to one another? It seems so silly! If we have the common goal of
furthering the Kingdom by loving our neighbor as Christ so generously loved us…
then why do we size one another up? What job you have, how your baby dresses,
who you know, how much time you spend in the Word, if you went to college/got a
masters/got a doctorate, what college you went to, how you spend you free time, where you vacation…
ugh, it makes me exhausted just thinking about the energy we spend in making
ourselves look good to one another. May we be a community of people what are
willing to put our greatnesses aside and humbly walk among one another with the
common goal of spreading his kingdom and doing what we can to bring Heaven to
Earth. May our lives be spent making Him more famous. May we be a people that lift one another up instead of sizing one
another up. ß Rant over.
Let’s take Solomon’s wisdom into great
consideration as we move forward. Live life fully. Provide for the broken and
hurting. Work hard, rest well. Do not size your achievements up with your
neighbors. Power and influence do not last. Keep in mind that our journey on
earth is short. Do not act overly righteous.
^^ Wow. That’s a tall order.
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Your last sentence is so important. Kohelet does tell us that competition is a driving force among all humans. "All the energy and skill we pour into our work is motivated by the envy of our neighbour. This competition is as futile as chasing after the wind yet I also saw a fool who lazily folded his hands and ruined his life. I concluded that one handful with rest is better than chasing after the wind."
ReplyDeleteWe all get caught in that trap but where Christians excel is transforming that competition into spiritual competition. Who can be the best Christian, witness the most, be the most devoted.
Kohelet will say, "do not be self righteous and think yourselves wise, it will ruin your life." Many will ruin their lives by trying to prove their spirituality and talking on and on about what they are doing for God.
"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the worship of fools who speak before they think. Do not be hasty to utter a word before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth so let your words be few. Just as a dream comes when there are many worries so does foolish talk when there are many words."
Vance - www.artofwork.ca
PS - One of the better blogs I have read on Ecclesiastes this month.