Ecclesiastes 8:15-17 (Ants vs. Albert Einstein)

¹⁵ So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun. ¹⁶ When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the labor that is done on earth—people getting no sleep day or night— ¹⁷ then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.

Last week, we looked at some of the inequalities of this life: wicked people getting what the good people deserve and good people getting what the wicked deserve, for example.  And Solomon wraps it up today by saying, "You can try as hard as you want, stay up all day and all night, research it, analyze it, question it, but you will never fully understand God and His ways." 

How anti-climactic!

But it's true.  I need to get it into my little skull that I will never fully understand God and what He does.  I am an ant, and He is Albert Einstein.  No matter how hard I try, it is not within my human capacity to understand His thinking.

Just this week, I was talking with a friend about how upset the world gets when Christians say there is only one way to Heaven -- Jesus Christ.  The world thinks we are being judgmental and intolerant (to which I remind myself, it's not I that has made it that way, but God, so really they should be taking it up with Him).  And as we were talking, she quoted someone (whom I cannot remember now) who said something along the lines that rather than be offended that there is only one way to get to Heaven and be in the presence of God, we should be knocked to our knees that He made any way at all.

Why does Albert Einstein care about the little ants at all?  Why would he willingly leave the comforts of the human world and take on the form and ways of an ant just so the ants could understand him better?  And when he became an ant, why did he put up with the ways the other ants treated him, when he could've easily snapped his fingers and become a human again?  He chose to remain an ant until death because he loved the ants that much, and he wanted to prove it to them.

I don't know the ways of God.  I never will fully understand them.  But based on what God did for me, I know that He is Love.  I know that He is trustworthy and good.

So, I don't need to figure it all out.  Admitting that and owning that really does relieve some weight off of my shoulders.  

He is God, so I will let Him deal with the God-sized problems.  In the meantime, I will deal with my own ant-sized problems and try to live obediently for Him.  I can enjoy life, as Solomon says in verse 15, and eat, drink, and be glad -- I don't have to carry around the burdensome load of worry just because I don't have it all figured out.  It's okay to be joyful without all the answers.

Being a Christian does not mean that life will be easy, prosperous, and good all the time.  God wants more for us than the easy road that leads to no where.  But being a Christian does mean that when the road starts to become winding, I can be still and know that HE is God.  A good, trustworthy, and loving God.  And He's way smarter than Einstein, anyway.

Ecclesiastes 8:11-14 (Glowing Faces in the Dark)

 
I can't shake it.  I can't stop thinking about the lives of those three women, held captive in a dark, cold basement, chained to the wall for the majority of the day until their captor decided he would have his way with them.  Then beaten and bruised, they go back to the wall to wait until tomorrow, wondering how long until they would be rescued or if they would ever be rescued, wondering about the lives of the babies who were lost, wondering what they did to deserve this.

For. Over. Ten. Years. 

¹¹ When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong. ¹² Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.  

The captor of these women thought he would get away with this crime forever.  He had not been caught for a decade, and for 3, 650 days, it appeared he was going to get away with his unimaginable behavior.  How is that so?  Here Solomon tells us that nothing has changed in the past 2,500 years since he wrote this: wicked people will commit horrible crimes, live long lives, and appear to get away with what they're doing.

¹³ Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

But even if someone gets away with their crimes for many years, Solomon says that "the good life" is reserved for the people who fear God.  Money crimes, sex crimes, drug crimes, abuse crimes -- it doesn't matter.  The lives of those who commit such acts are flat and colorless (like a shadow) compared to those who honor and serve God. 

 ¹⁴ There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.

And that's not the worst of it.  Solomon says there's something else horribly common on this earth and that is when good people get what the wicked people deserve and the wicked get the blessings of the good people.  This is tough to take, especially when it happens to you.

I've been following the story of an American pastor in Iran, Saeed Abedini, who was sentenced to an eight year prison term for sharing the news of Jesus Christ in Iran.  He is being held in a tight and brutal prison, enduring many beatings, solitary confinement, and the like.  His young wife and children are still living in Idaho.

He doesn't deserve this.  He's not hurting anyone, yet he is being treated among the worst criminals and even the other prisoners abuse him.

He was put in solitary confinement earlier this month for a week.  Solitary confinement is considered by some to be one of the cruelest forms of punishment, and has found to induce
"anxiety, headaches, chronic tiredness, trouble sleeping, impending nervous breakdown, perspiring hands, heart palpitations, loss of appetite, trembling hands and nightmares[...]suicidal thoughts, perceptual distortions, chronic depression, emotional flatness, violent fantasies, social withdrawal and ruminations were present [even after] a short time after admittance."

But when Saeed was released earlier this week, that was not the case.  According to his wife's facebook page: (italics mine)
"Saeed's family [the ones living overseas] got to visit him at Evin Prison today since he has now been released from solitary confinement. He said he felt many praying and the time in solitary was a time of intimacy with God. He said when he came out the other prisoners said he was glowing! He was filled with more joy and peace after solitary than going in!!! All of the prisoners were shocked at the change! This is because of your prayers!"

Even in hardship, God is with the righteous.  The reports of Saeed "glowing" reminded me of Moses' return from the top of Mt. Sinai after being with God there.  If the Lord meets us at the top of mountains, surely He also meets us in the darkness of our prison cells.

I know that our world is broken.  It's falling apart around us as it continues its search for meaning apart from Jesus Christ, and many things we see and experience don't make sense.  But even in the darkest hours, He is still there, walking beside us and holding our hand.

He will never leave you, no matter what comes.  And knowing that, makes even the dark places seem a little less cold.  I am so grateful that we never walk alone.

We must remember to seek Him, even when we don't understand the whys.  For even in the darkest of places, with Him our face can glow.
 

Ecclesiastes 8:7-8 (White Knuckles)

Right now, I could tell you about three or four major things in my life that could easily keep me awake at night.  Perhaps for you, some of those major things might be subjects we find in our verses for today: a horrible boss, your future, the wars of our country (both physical and hypothetical), or death -- perhaps yours or someone else's that you love.

But I didn't lose sleep last night.  In fact, I might have slept a little too well.  Know why?  Because all those things are out of my control.

I'm learning this lesson in a major way right now.  See, in the last couple years, just when I thought I'd recovered from the loss of my mom, I lost more people.  No one close to me has died since then, thankfully, but a handful of my favorites have moved out of state -- including a couple friends and two of my three sisters.  Those moves have hit me HARD. 

My biggest fear before losing my mom to cancer was the death of a parent, and then she died.  So, I have tried really hard since then to barricade myself with a wall of friends who I knew would never "leave me"...and then they left.

And they should leave -- they were leaving for great jobs and great graduate schools and great spouses, and those are all great reasons to leave.  Yet, here I now found myself without them.  And feeling somewhat betrayed.  But they weren't leaving me, they were going to these great things.  Why do I always have to make it about me?

Regardless, I cried.  I pouted to myself.  I thought our relationships would be over forever.  I'm not a phone person, so if we can't just meet up for a cup of coffee on the spur of the moment, then clearly, we aren't going to be able to stay friends! 

But God, in his ever-gentle way, has been teaching me how to slowly release the white-knuckle grip I mentally have on the people around me that I love and has been reminding me that I have no control over what other people choose to do, and for goodness sake, Molly, their moves really have very little to do with you.

And so it is with horrible bosses, friends and family who move away, our future, and death and war:

⁷ Since no one knows the future,
    who can tell someone else what is to come?
⁸ As no one has power over the wind to contain it,
    so no one has power over the time of their death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
    so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

There are many things which we cannot control, for none of us has any power to contain the decisions of others, and to lose sleep over them is futile -- we just wake up less rested, more grumpy, and less productive the next day.  Instead, in these things, can we take all that we have learned in Ecclesiastes so far, and entrust these things to our loving and good God?  If the results of these things depended on me, I'd be worried sick.  But it's not up to me, it's up to God.  And He is a lot more dependable than me anyway.

So, here's what I know I can control:  I read my Bible this morning and am trying to live by it.  I have and will love my husband today and try to serve and honor him.  I haven't slandered anybody yet today.  I gave my dog and cat some attention.  I am going to go to work and do my job the best that I can.  Later today, I'm going to call some of those people I love who have moved away and let them know that I'm thinking about them and miss them.  

I'm happy and yet I've got struggles (and that's just one of them).  We all do.  And these things are on my mind, yes, but they don't weigh me down, because I'm trusting God with them.  This is not a passive approach to life, but rather a conscious decision to surrender to the fact that I am not God, but I do trust The One who is.  He directs the wind, not me.

As one author puts it, "I know who holds tomorrow even if I don't know what tomorrow holds."

Do you believe the same?

Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 8:2-6 (Horrible Bosses)

 As we break apart this idea of remaining poised, let's look deeper at the three areas here that Solomon says we will probably need some poise: bosses and leaders, our deaths, and war/wickedness in verses 2 through 9.

I'm finding that with this idea of poise, it takes a lot more work than I originally thought.  Trying to remain poised in situations that involve other people is difficult, because they aren't trying to work on "poise" the way I am!

I am grateful to say that I have not had many experiences where I've had horrible bosses, but I know stories of people very dear to me who have: selfish, moody, out-for-self kind of bosses.  Perhaps you can relate to being under the weight of such "leaders," or perhaps during any given presidential term you may feel that you are under a weight as you wait out their term.

Regardless of whatever authority you may be under, remain poised, Solomon says:

² Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. ³ Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. ⁴ Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵ Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
    and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
⁶ For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
    though a person may be weighed down by misery.

There may be a proper time and procedure to speak to a boss about something, but Solomon says, don't be in a hurry to do it.  Bosses will do what bosses will do.  You serve their pleasures and commands, not your own.  And ultimately, they are still under The Boss, Himself.  

We are called to obey authority.  Don't abandon that position.  Even if you have a horrible boss, don't panic.  God sees, and it takes patience and trust in God for us to choose to submit to frail, human authority.

Remember David living under the evil King Saul?  He had multiple opportunities to kill Saul; yet, he had promised God that he would not take Saul's life into his own hands.  So he waited.  Under the evil leadership of a man who wanted him dead!  It took poise to not take Saul out.  Eventually, God took him out!

We can't control everything in life and that's OK.  Obey the moral will of God and do what He commands us to do.  Solomon reminds us that the obedient man "will come to no harm."  If your life is characterized by willful obedience and sumbission to the authority above you, there will be a "proper time and place" for dealing with problems.  When you're obeying the will of God, you don't have to worry.

You probably can't get your mean boss fired.  You have no control over that.  But what you do have control over is you.  Are you doing well with the things that ARE in your control?

A wise and poised follower of Christ knows He can change things in a heartbeat and, therefore, can rest in the sovereignty of God.

As far as my family member goes, the horrible boss in that situation got demoted...without this person having to do anything!  It took a few years, but his character/ability was found out. 

Be still.  God will take care of it.

Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 8:1 (Poise and Joy)

I'm awed by the famous women of the former decades -- Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and the like.  They seem to radiate beauty and confidence and femininity in a way that makes me say, yeah, it's good to be a woman.  Or how about the stories of heroes who seem to just know what they should do in a moment of crisis and do it without a second thought?  All of these people possess one same, amiable quality: poise.

Poise is defined as 'a dignified, self-confident manner or steadiness.'  Don't you wish you could have a dignified, self-confident manner and steadiness no matter what comes your way?

Heavy, wall-to-wall rush hour traffic when you're already late for your cousin's surprise party?  No biggie, I've got poise.

Berating from your co-worker about the project you screwed up when he was out golfing with a client for the fifth time this week?  Just shruggin the shoulders, I've got poise.

One kid screaming in her high chair with pureed peas all over her face while the other one is clinging to your left ankle begging you not to make her take a nap, and then the dog poops on the floor?  Ain't no thing, I've got poise.

Or perhaps it's something even bigger: a diagnosis, a visit from the police, a pink slip as the bills are piling up.  How do we maintain poise in the midst of the life-altering moments?

Who is like the wise?
    Who knows the explanation of things?
A person’s wisdom brightens their face
    and changes its hard appearance.

The thing is, we don't want poise just for high-society's sake and looking put-together; rather, poise, for a Christian, is a sign of wisdom.

Do you have joy today?  Well, do you have a Bible in your hand?  The Word integrated into our life, and the Biblical wisdom it produces brings joy and poise, no matter the circumstances.

Wisdom brings poise because a person who has Biblical wisdom is assured of what is right.  They understand who they are, where they came from, where they are going, how their sin is and can be removed, and what the will of God is for their life.  There is no greater joy than to know the answers to these great life questions, and there is no other place to go for the answers than the Bible. 

My husband, Josh, used to make fun of me, but I hold to this: many times, you can tell if a person is a Christian just by looking at them.  

I'm not talking about the "I go to church with my wife because she makes me" kind of Christian (though good for you for going at all), but I'm talking about the kind of Christian who has asked God some tough questions in the midst of dark times and saw that God doesn't leave when we ask questions, who cried alone in her bed in the middle of the night only to be comforted by Scripture, who thinks often of Jesus throughout each day and tries to live for Him in obedience.  There is something about their faces.  It doesn't happen often, but I will run into them in a grocery store only to start talking later about church, or chat with them in the coffee line at a bookstore only to find them in the Christian book aisle a few minutes later, or hear an interview on the news of what kind thing someone did only to hear them reference Christ a few minutes later.  There is just a gentleness and tenderness in their eyes, a brightness.

This does not happen often, but it does happen.  And Josh believes me now after just having had this experience with a co-worker who he always thought was a nice, stand-up woman...turns out, she loves Jesus, too!  I'm telling you, there's a "brightness of their face" as these verses reference, and it's real.  It's hope.  It's truth.  It's a security in uncertain times.

Studying the Word gives wisdom, and wisdom will make you poised and full of joy.

As Clairee says in Steel Magnolias, "Smile!  It increases your face value!"

You don't need a face lift, my friends, just read Scripture!



Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 (A Double-Whammy)

²¹ Do not pay attention to every word people say,
    or you may hear your servant cursing you—
²² for you know in your heart
    that many times you yourself have cursed others.

This was a double-whammy today.  

Verse 21 -- People are going to say mean things about you to others.

Verse 22 -- You've done the exact same thing, too.

And both are true.  Do you know why?  Because both of you are sinners.  We all are sinners.

This reminds me that I have to go beyond just saying I'm a sinner, to really believing at my core that I am so far from where God wants me to be that I am 100 percent dependent on God's grace.  Without Him, I'm nothing.  Left to myself, I'm ruined.

With all this "self-esteem" talk these days, I wonder if we have glossed over the Truth of ourselves: Yes, we all have something to give and we needn't walk around with our head between our legs all the time, but we also must remember that we are worth very little, except that Jesus crowns us with righteousness.  A sinner, crowned like a queen.  Now, that's grace.

In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that you read this blog because you want to grow.  You know you're not perfect and that there's always more to learn.  And I can also guarantee that if you knew about me what God knows, you wouldn't be reading this blog.  We're all sinners...there but for the grace of God.

So, when I hear that someone is talking about me (as I just heard this week, in fact, what perfect timing), I can let it go.  I, too, have cursed others, slandered them behind their back, complained about them, and torn them down when they weren't there to defend themselves.

I'm not proud of those moments at all.  But remembering them reminds me that I'm no better than anyone else, and who cares about anyone else, because I know that I need a Savior.  I'm a sinner, too, just like the worst of 'em.

Solomon shoots it straight: people WILL talk badly about you, so expect it.  But remember that you have done the exact same thing.  So, don't be surprised when it happens.  Instead, extend grace.



Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 7:15-20 (Knowledge with Humility)

¹⁵ In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
¹⁶ Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?
¹⁸ It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

¹⁹ Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
    than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰ Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
    no one who does what is right and never sins.

Perhaps you need to hear this today:  you do not have control.  

I needed to hear that yesterday.  It was a doozie of a day at work, and I was beginning to get all wrapped up in the silliness of it all when a co-worker reminded me, "It's out of our control."  And she was right.

We spend an awful lot of time fretting over things that are simply out of our control, don't we?  Our anxiety and constant thinking about them doesn't change a thing.  And when I can remember this very fact, and can let go of whatever stress I may feel about not being in control, I suddenly feel free!  Amazing how that works!

Here's one thing we don't have control over:

In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

Have you seen incredibly good, joyful, righteous people die young? And all the while, have you seen wicked people living longer than all the kind people around them?  I've seen both.  Many times!

But we are not in control.  He is.  I don't get it most of the time, but when I do see wicked people living a long time, I often remember when Peter reminded us that "The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).  He's giving everyone as much time as possible to decide to turn to Him, even the most evil people there are.  And despite their evil, He can still use them for His purposes.  So don't be surprised when bad people live long.

We don't know it all, and we don't know what God is doing; therefore,

Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself? 

 Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time? 

 It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

Solomon reminds us here to not be "overrighteous."  Don't go around thinking you have all the answers and you know better than everyone else.  Pride comes before the fall.

And don't chuck it all because you're not in control and don't know all that God is doing by saying flippant things like, "Well, I won't wear a seat belt.  God will keep me alive if He wants me here," because that's just foolish and you may just die before your time.

Rather, we must hang on to both of these.  Avoid extremes in the area of our hearts and attitudes.  In this life of inequality, we need to focus on one thing: to live in godly fear of the Lord and to honor Him.  We need to focus on ourselves, not on how other people are doing in their Christianity. 

If evil people are still living, that's okay.  God's got it.  It's out of my control.  And if good people are dying, we don't need to be shocked.  God warns us that that will happen on this Earth.  Either way, we trust Him, and we keep working on ourselves.  We need to remember that no matter how righteous we may think we are, we are still just a sinner saved by the grace of God.

As John Newton, the former slave trader and author of "Amazing Grace," said, "When I get to heave, I will be amazed at three things.  I will be amazed at those I thought would be there who are not there, those I did not think would be there who are there, and the fact that I am there at all."

Early in his ministry, Paul called himself the least of the apostles.  Later on he said he was the least of all Christians.  Then he said he was the chief of sinners.  The older he got, the more he saw God, the lower he became in his own estimation.

Like these two men, I want to remain humble.  The longer I know Christ, the more humble I hope to become.  But I can tell you this, humility won't come when we think we have the last word on knowledge and righteousness.

Let's leave that to Jesus.

¹⁹ Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
    than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰ Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
    no one who does what is right and never sins.

There is nothing better than wisdom.  There is nothing better than walking with God and revering Him.  Just don't let it go to your head.  Beacause there is not a single one of us who is perfect and has it all together and knows everything.  But keep learning anyway.  Stay in the Word.

In fact, no matter how many degrees you have, if you don't soeak in the Bible, you're stumbling through a minefield.  But if the only book you study is is the Bible and its wisdom, and you have no other degrees, you'll still have a joyful, happy life.  You may not have lake house with a jet ski, but can you live with that?  Wisdom is better than ten rulers.  You can surround yourself with the greatest, most knowledable men, but if you know and fear God, you're ahead of the pack.

So it's good to be wise, but make sure you temper it by "being downwind of yourself," as one author likes to put it.  Don't focus on the fact that you're growing compared to the people around you.  Look at Jesus, and let Him be your standard...then you'll remember who you really are.

I'm just a sinner saved by Grace.




Molly Monroe