Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 (Green Hair)

And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
    in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

 I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed.”

Ya know what I appreciate about Solomon as he writes all of this?  He is honest, brutally honest throughout this writing.  As much as I often feel better by putting a positive spin on things, I really appreciate that he is just tellin' it like it is. He doesn't sugar-coat things.  Like this for instance:

And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
    in the place of justice—wickedness was there (vs 16).

Have you noticed, like Solomon, that life is not fair?  Evil people are rulers over entire countries, and in the place of justice often sits a man who just wants to make a lot of money or be given much power, but he may not always care about true justice. Why does God allow those people to remain where they are?  Everyday we come in contact with the injustices of the world, and we may ask, "God, why aren't you doing something NOW to fix this?"

Perhaps it's not just in the big matters, too.  Even in small things, we want justice and we want it now!  The man who cuts you off as you're driving, wouldn't you love for him to get pulled over for speeding about one mile up the road?  And to the person who yelled at you or made you feel inferior, wouldn't you love for her teeth to fall out in the middle of the night?

I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed” (vs 17).

God WILL bring justice, He says, for every activity.  Every single one.  But we really don't want justice right now, because if He did bring his justice and judgment to the man who cut us off or the woman who yelled at us, He would also have to bring justice to us. We would have to live with the same judgments and the same consequences now.  So, if we talked about someone behind their back, our tongues would turn green.  If we cut corners so that we didn't have to pay something, then we would go bankrupt in the next month, too.  If we felt a little too puffed up about ourselves, we would suddenly break out in never-before-seen acne and all of our hair would turn green and then fall out within weeks, too.

God is patient with us.  With all of us.  And really, we like it that way.

If I stop and think about it, I really don't want to Him to give people what they deserve right away, because I don't want Him to give me what I deserve right away either.

He promises that there will come a time.  The evil will get exactly what they deserve, and if it weren't for Jesus' sacrifice for me, I would get it, too.

But for now, I can trust His timing...and be thankful that I don't have green hair today.


Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 3:14 (Truth #4--Trust)

¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

In Ecclesiastes 3, we have seen first hand some very crucial truths:

Point #1 -- God is wise and His plan is wise.
Point #3 -- His plan is also mysterious.
Point #3 -- Even still, enjoy what He has given us.
And now finally,
Point #4 -- Rest in the sovereignty of God.

God is forever and everything He does is forever.  It is complete and perfect.  Man cannot add anything to what He does or take anything away.  He is in complete control of the overall outcomes of life (though He does willingly give up some of that detailed control when He gives us free will).

Ultimately, He is in charge, even when we mess things up royally. Nothing phases Him or surprises Him.

His plan is unchangeably perfect.

And I must know this in my life.  I need to know that He is in charge and that His plan is good, because every day is not roses and sunshine all the time, is it?

I had a really rough day in the past week.  It appeared that all of my losses were being held up in my face in the course of about three hours -- I missed the people I've lost, I missed relationships that had ended, I wished things were "how they used to be" for a moment.

And then I came home and opened Ecclesiastes.

And I remembered what I've known for so long, but what I sometimes forget.  I was reminded that everything that is happening now or has happened or will happen has been decreed, and everything that is happening now is going according to plan.

God is perfect and all-knowing and I am not.  Though some events may not make complete sense now, God will take hold of what has passed by; He will insert that piece into the puzzle of my life and of all of His creation, and it will make sense.

I must trust Him and thank Him in everything.

The most evil injustice occurred 2,000 years ago.  A perfect man died on behalf of all the sinners.  He, of all people, didn't deserve any of it.  He was perfect, and what did He get for it?  Torture, Suffocation, Rejection, Betrayal, and Death.

Yet, God turned the most evil thing that has ever happened into the best thing that has ever happened. And today, we can celebrate because Jesus died in our place and took the punishment that we deserve.

I don't understand some of the things that happen in our lives, but Jesus does.  And if Jesus trusted His Father enough to endure the cross, then I can trust my Father as I endure my crosses.

In my pain, God isn't trying to produce cynicism, but a reverent fear and trust.

His mysterious plan shouldn't repel us; it should make us bow.


Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 (Truth #3-Enjoy)

¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

The first truths we've come across in this section of scripture remind us that 1) God is wise and His plan is wise and 2) God's plan is mysterious to us.  Those are two major pieces of the puzzle -- they're big.  I look at those and see some "uphill climbing" in order to grasp and claim those promises.  It's simple to say those things, but it's not always easy believe them.

The next two are the "downhill" promises -- the ones that, I hope, are a little easier and will allow us to take a break and sink into the first two.  But, today's verses are quickly becoming some of my favorite verses in the Bible!

^"I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God."

Truth #3 -- Enjoy your life.

Solomon reminds us that even in the midst of circumstances that we may not understand, we cannot let what we cannot fully know about God's plan destroy what we can enjoy! (You may have to read that again.  I did.)  Yes, we cannot be God and we cannot control our circumstances.  There is nothing we can do about it.  So, Solomon in his Godly wisdom, says don't let that negate your present enjoyment of life.

We have a choice: to be miserable or to be happy.  And it is so reassuring to me when I remember who my God is.  He is not up there saying, "I gotcha!" in the midst of our circumstances or consequences.  He is LOVE, remember?  And with that love comes a desire to give gifts to His children that will make them smile.

Really, a verse that is changing the way I live is 1 Timothy 6:17 which ends by reminding us that we should, "... put [our] hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

This is a theme throughout Scripture!  God says, "Don't be too uptight and serious!  Have some fun, you people!  I made work, but I also made play and fun and laughter and rest.  I don't want you to miss out on the full experience of your life, including the fun stuff.  When you enjoy those gifts, I smile with you!"

Look!  Verse 13 says, "That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their work—this is the gift of God."  Is that not just the best?  God wants us to ENJOY -- enjoy good food, enjoy good drink, enjoy the things you do throughout the day.  Soak it up and enjoy it.

One theme of Ecclesiastes is seasons.  There will be a season when you're sad, but if that season is not now, enjoy it.  There will be a time that you die, but today you're alive, so enjoy it.  Today, while everything's okay, delight in it.  If you have some unused candles in your house -- light them!  If you have a gift card that's been traveling along with you in your purse for over a year -- go spend it!  That friend you haven't talked to in six months, call them and get caught up; or heck, hop on a plane this weekend and go visit for a couple days!  Rent a movie tonight that you've been wanting to see and curl up on the couch with a blanket and some hot popcorn.  Go get a double dip of your favorite ice cream, sit down, and lick it really slowly, and just enjoy being.  The list is limitless!  But think of something you want to do, and do it, just for enjoyment's sake.  These moments and pleasure, delight, laughter, and flavor -- they are all gifts to you from your Heavenly Father who smiles as you smile.

Two of my dearest friends are Dick and Shirley.  They are in their seventies.  Dick has a degenerative brain condition, and one day according to doctors, he will be in a wheelchair and his physical abilities will continue to decline.  Knowing that that's coming, I would be tempted to live in fear and dread of the future.  But not Dick and Shirley!  They are always being with people and often times that means they're out of the house.  So, if you call and they're not home, you'll get their answering machine and it will say, "...I'm sorry we're not home right now.  We're out celebrating life!  Please leave your..."

Celebrating life!  Despite what may or may not come sooner or later, they refuse to let a diagnosis and the "what ifs" of the future stop them TODAY.  They are absolutely delightful, joyful people.
I want to be like them.  I want to celebrate life no matter what!

One of the greatest things I started when I was in high school was my "List of Things I Love."  It was just a list I kept on my computer of all the little things that bring be delight.  I had lost that list for the past few years after our move, but I found it again recently and giggled as I read what used to "delight me" when I was nineteen years old: patterned socks, Barnum's animal crackers in the box with a string, picking up developed photos, and being in a bathing suit and shorts (among literally hundreds of other things).

Now, I don't really care to walk around in a bathing suit as much as I used to, and I don't think you can even drop off film to be developed anymore -- can you?

Another thing on that list: long walks with Mom.

Times change.  Seasons change.  But no matter where we are, God wants us to delight in it now and to cherish it later.

Christ-followers are not expected to miss out on all the fun.  In fact, they have more reason to have fun because they know from Whom all these good gifts come!  It is a lie the Enemy tells that we should not enjoy what God has given us.  He wants to rob us of our joy -- refuse him.  God says, "Enjoy it to the full."

I urge us, as another way to honor God, enjoy what He has given.  Soak it up.  Have fun.  Make a list of the "Things You Love" and add to it over the various seasons of your life...you will then suddenly find yourself on the path to joy and gratitude.  It's a fantastic place to be!

So...what kinds of FUN are YOU going to ENJOY this weekend??


Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 (Truth #2-Mysterious Plan)

¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. ¹¹ Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

We have many "why" questions, don't we?  

Just this morning I read in the paper where a boy I went to elementary and middle school with, who lived in a rough home, who was always a bit overweight, who had no friends and was consistently bullied, ended up becoming an abuser and just offered money to a co-worker to kill his wife for him.  This boy, who is now a man, is currently in jail with a $1 million bond.

Why, God?  He didn't get to pick his home life.  He didn't get to choose whether he wanted to fit in or not.  He was just a little boy last time I saw him.  Why?

...and that's just the why question that came to my mind first this morning.  There are many personal ones that I've shared with you, too, of deaths to soon, changes in relationships, and people I love who hurt deeply.  Why?

He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

The thing is, deep in our hearts, we know that there is more than meets the eye in this life.  We know that what we see before us is here for an instant and then gone, like a vapor.  We can sense our own unsettledness. But God doesn't enable us to always "get it."

God's plan is wise, but it is also mysterious.

He has made it so that we cannot see everything He is doing, and we don't see the big picture -- only He does.  But even still His mysterious plan is meant to sound like a symphony, a mysterious and beautiful intermingling of the black keys and white keys in our lives.

Yet, even when we recognize God's work in our lives, we still try to squint our eyes and figure out all the little details of the whys and the things we can't see.  I know God has a plan for my life, but I still want to know why I was born this way or why my parent treated me this way, or why I am missing out on a blessing I see befalling someone else.

So we keep squinting, but we still can't see it.

As one author said, "There is a deep-seated, compulsive drive to transcend our mortality by knowing the meaning and destiny of life."

Sometimes I do wonder what exactly we humans, scientists and doctors, professors and philosophers, are doing exactly.  Why do we even think that we could find out the meaning and destiny of life?  Like a dandelion trying to figure out how to drive a car are we when we try to understand the ornate, supreme plans of God and the complete meaning and destiny of our life.  Doesn't that sound like a question that really only God Himself could answer? 

And He does somewhat -- throughout the narratives, poetry, and expository literature of the Bible.  We see an over-arching plan and a story that has been going on for centuries -- God's story.  But trust me, I've looked, there is not a book in the Bible titled This is the Meaning and Destiny of Your Life.  There are truths, principles, promises, and a whole lot of love, but not a Cliff notes version of the destiny of each specific life.  There are many answers to questions within the pages of Scripture, but there are some specific questions involving our lives that are left unanswered.

Sometimes there is just plain evil in the world.  Other times, we pray for something and God doesn't answer it the way we want, or maybe even seem to answer us at all...

We don't get to know all the answers.  There is some mystery there, for which I think God has a great purpose.  He allows things in our lives that are not always pleasing and pleasurable, but they are wise.

And because of that, we must choose to trust Him.

What is a why question you have today?  Are you able to give it to Him and trust Him with His wise plan?

Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (Truth #1-The Black Keys)

How do you live in a world that is out of control?

How do we live with a God who doesn't always make sense, work on our timelines, or "behave" the way we want Him to?

Over the next four days, we will look at four "truths" on which to stand when it appears that life is falling apart.  The Bible is full of promises that can keep us looking to Him, even in the midst of pain and brokenness.

In the last post, we read the poetry in the Bible that starts with "For everything, there is a season..."  We see that there is life, but there is also death.  There is gain, but there is also loss.  There is laughter, but some days, there are also many, many tears.

"He has made everything appropriate in its time.  He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from beginning to end."

We were made for more than this.  We were made for a life of joy, peace, and laughter, and even in the brokenness around us, we sense that there must be something more...eternity is waiting.  And someday, those of us who have decided to follow Jesus will understand...when Jesus wipes every tear from our eyes.

But what about now?  What about until that day?

He has made everything appropriate in its time.  I like that reminder.

There are no coincidences.

Or as other translations say, God has made everything beautiful in its time.  Everything.

We may not understand what He's doing -- and there will be many, many times we will not understand what He is doing behind the scenes -- but what this verse reminds me is that nothing is happenstance with God Almighty because above all:



He is wise, and even bad things have a purpose.  



He makes everything beautiful in its time.  When an appointed "bad" thing occurs, it may not seem to have any purpose whatsoever, but God sees it from a different perspective.

I absolutely love this story from a pastor in Texas:

"I was teaching in our church and had asked Norma, a wonderful pianist, if she would play for the congregation. I asked her to play "Jesus Love Me" using only the simple white keys.  When she played, it had a very simple sound.  Frankly, it wasn't interesting.

Next I asked her to play it using as many black keys as she wanted.  If you've ever played a piano, you know that by themselves the black keys don't sound very good. That's where all the sharps and flats are.  But when Norma played "Jesus Love Me" and included the black keys, it created a lush, beautiful sound.  I asked my congregation to vote on whether they liked it with the white keys only or with the black keys added in. Without a doubt, the song sounds better with the black keys.

Life is just like a song played on the piano.  It is a caricature without the black keys.  It's not heroic without sin, evil, and pain. You don't know how to appreciate the heroism, love, and patience of God until evil enters the world.

The parts of our lives that don't feel right at the time are woven together by God to form a beautiful tapestry.  God's plan is wise--its just that He doesn't ask you and me for our opinions. There is no suggestion box in the tabernacle. We have to just trust Him."

We don't understand much.  We don't know where the corners of the universe are, or how to make it rain in a desert, or the number of grains of sand on a beach, or how to send a lightning bolt on its way.  God does.

God knows far more than you and I will ever know, and His plans are greater than you or I can even imagine.

Believing that God is wise is the only thing that will sustain you when He plays your life on the black keys.  And when He does, keep looking to Him and trusting Him...there is some real beauty in the making.  Just hold on.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (A Time To...)

Sometimes I have a problem with God.  That sounds blasphemous, I know.  My problem is that I don't understand His ways and His reasons.

I don't understand why Josh suddenly lost his hearing in his right ear this summer, and it doesn't look like it will ever get better.

I don't understand why my Mom got cancer and died.

I don't understand why the baby we were so excited about last July didn't make it.

There is a lot I don't understand.  And that's just what I don't understand in MY life, let alone the whole world and all of its problems.

Pastor Jim talked to our class at church on Sunday, and he let us know that in the Jewish culture and the Old Testament, like the book of Job for instance, its much more acceptable to "wrestle with God" or to question why He's doing what He's doing.  For most of my life, I'd been under the impression that we should never question God.  That by questioning Him, we're not trusting Him.  But instead, I'm beginning to think that what kind of real relationship can be had when one party is very confused and upset by what the other is allowing or doing, but they aren't allowed to express those feelings and thoughts?  It wouldn't work in any of my earthly relationships, and I know that I'm talking about Almighty God here, but based on what I read about Him, I don't think He's put-off by our questions and our "whys".  In fact, for many of us, our "whys" might be the most we've ever talked to Him in a long time.  He can handle our "whys."

The problem is:  He doesn't always answer them.

And He doesn't have to.  I can ask all I want, and I can feel comfortable doing that.  But what if He doesn't actually answer my questions on my time line?  He doesn't have to.  He's God.

Now see, satan is very simplistic, and he's much easier to understand.  He is a being of pure evil, and everything he does is evil.  His reason is easily understood.

But God, however, is a quandary.  It is difficult to understand His actions in the short-term.  The big question:  if He's so good and all-powerful, then why are there so many problems in the world?

And this is the problem that leads Solomon to write Ecclesiastes Chapter 3.

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— (v.1)

The most important thing to remember is that God has made a time for everything that occurs.  Who is the one "appointing" in this verse?  God is.  He is the one in charge of the schedule of events.  He has a plan, and He does not waver from it.  He is not surprised by anything.  I like a line from the book I'm reading right now that says, "He is not always pleased, but He is never perplexed."

He is in charge.  And that's what we have to decide for ourselves first and foremost, before we go any further -- either God is sovereign or He's not.

Oh, trust me, I have wrestled with that question a lot the past few years.  I'm sure you have too, or if you haven't, you will some day.  But I am coming to find that every single event is part of God's plan.

² A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
³ A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
⁶ A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

Solomon tells us here that there will be a day that you will receive a call that someone you love has died, and you will weep.  But that won't last forever, because then you will move into your dream house or have a baby and you will laugh!  This is how life is.  For all of us.  So, we need to expect it. 

I hate to admit this, but until bad things started to happen to me, I really thought I was going to be the exception.  I really did.  I had gotten away with twenty-four years of my life with very little hardship, and I know compared to some, I have gone through relatively little hardship even still.  But, I can promise you, none of us will have a perfect, stain-free life.

There will be times where we need to tear down poor relationships, but there will also be times that we need to build certain ones up.  There will be times we need to hang on to something or someone and times when we need to let go.  There will be times when we should just be silent about the things we know about someone else and times when we should speak upliftingly about them to others.

We all will experience these seasons.  There is no escape, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either.

Here's the thing: God is not Santa.  He's not our personal genie or vending machine who gives us exactly what we want.  He's got bigger plans for you than to just give you what you think you want!  We don't even know what's good for us and how to take care of ourselves in the best ways (though so often I think I do).  God is in control.  He does not cooperate with our plans, and according to our rules, He does not "behave".

But here's the thing:  He loves us.  He loves us more than we could possibly imagine.  He celebrates our joys with us and cradles us when we cry.  The trek up the mountain is not always easy, but He promises that the place He's taking us (even while we're on Earth) is better than we could possibly imagine.  He has a destination for you.

So, if you're celebrating today, keep celebrating!  If you're smiling today, keep smiling!  What a great season you are in!  And remember that this season will probably not last forever, so enjoy it today.

And if you're crying today, remember that our lives are not meant for constant weeping.  You will laugh again.  Weeping is only a season.  Joy comes in the morning.  I can attest to that!

We can't see what's ahead, but He does, and He loves you.  While we are holding His hand, He holds the map.

He is authoring a great story in your life, one for His purposes and for your good.

Can you trust Him?

Ecclesiastes 2 (Pleasures and Possessions)

So, I hope you were able to read Ecclesiastes 2 last week and enjoy the memoir of King Solomon.  Like any good memoir, he is so honest!  I can't believe he wrote that 3,000 years ago, and all of those issues are still what we face today.  There is nothing new under the sun.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

He started by pursuing pleasure to no end.  He tried to drink and act ridiculous (like many drunk people do), and later, he talks about experiencing the pleasure of many voluptuous women, too.  The man did whatever he wanted, trying to find meaning and joy.  But, like those of us who have also given the pleasures of this world more power than they deserve, he woke up the next morning realizing all his efforts the night before were futile.  And if he's like me, he felt even worse than he did before.  

The thing about drowning ourselves in the pleasures of this world is that we might cover up our pain for a moment, but at some point, we do have to wake up the next morning.  And the problems are still there.  

And so the only way to truly live for pleasure is to live in denial of the reality that there are many hurting people around us and that we are hurting, too.  But that is madness.  That's insanity.

In our affluent culture, it's easy to make a god out of pleasure because options are all around us, and every single one of us has access to them.  But if we think pleasures will make us happy, we will never, ever be satisfied.  Our lusts are like a fire that can never be quenched.  We are always left wanting more.  

Nope, pleasures are not the key to this life.

So then Solomon tried posessions.

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.  ¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.

Now, if that doesn't sound like "The Life," I don't know what does.  It sounds like paradise to me!  And verse 10 sounds like something I will never experience:  He said "no" to nothing!  He had all the money a man could want, and he lived it to the full.  There's no checking the budget, no peek at the checking account to make sure there's enough money in there.  You just want it, you get it.  

I have had moments in my life where I an basically picturing this scene right here, and thinking to myself, now if I lived like that, life would be perfect.   Sometimes we think more money and more stuff will solve our problems.  I'm guilty of it!  But Solomon goes on to say:

My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun.

Even after all of that, when he looked around at all he had done and all he had achieved, he still felt that something was missing!  All this stuff before him....meaningless.  Vanity.  Smoke. 

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹ For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²² What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? ²³ All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

Solomon realized that after all this work, he can't take any of it with him when he dies.  And he will probably be leaving all of his fortune to someone who won't even be thankful for it since they didn't have to put in the work that he did.  What a waste!

And now he begins to get depressed.

"So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun...all their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest."

All this work, and he still can't even sleep.  The stuff is not bringing him the rest and contentment he thought it would.

I remember talking to a family at my school a few years ago.  The husband had sold a business (one you would recognize if I told you) and made millions while he was in his thirties.  They now live in one of the biggest neighborhoods in town, an enormous house, grand vacations, and neither the mom nor the dad work anymore!  They're just living off of their investments!  Sounds like the perfect life to me -- retired in my thirties!  For months, I grew more and more envious of these people and their lifestyle.  After weeks of having the mom help me in my classroom, my curiosity couldn't resist anymore, and I started asking some questions (politely).  To my  surprise, I found out that they are less settled than before they sold the business; the dad is so worried now about all of their stuff and has made a "job" of watching their investments daily (which I'm told is not the best way to invest), and he couldn't sleep well anymore!  The look in her eye let me know it wasn't all that it seemed at times.

Sounds just like Solomon!  You are worried about not having enough money, but once you have all the money and stuff, you're worried about keeping it!  The cycle never stops!

And so, Solomon has learned that the stuff will never satisfy, and he is depressed.  But a life built on "self" and "vanity" tends to head that direction.

A person can do nothing better in himself than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

And there it is.  In ourselves, we can only eat, drink and try to find satisfaction in our work.  And then we die.  But man must go outside his own finite self to find what is infinite.  

And that is God.  God is the one who provides meaning and direction and even the ability for us to just enjoy what we eat and drink and do.

And He does that.  He gives us grace -- something we have that we do not deserve.  There is no happiness in life without God.  Without Him, we are just on a random, pointless cycle that ends in death.  We must look to Him!

²⁶ To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

The person who fears the Lord, loves Him, follows Him, honors Him -- to them, He will give the wisdom and happiness that man so desires, because it is found ONLY in Him!  Nothing this world has will satisfy us because it, too, is finite.  You want real worth, purpose, and contentment?  We must look Up.

If you don't know God, you don't know much.  That's not being prideful; that's how God designed it.

I want to end today with a quote from Francis Shaffer's daughter.  She was attending college in Switzerland in the 1960s, where the predominant views were atheism and nihilism.  Some of her classmates even doubted that they themselves existed!  But she had no problem answering the intellectual questions she faced.  Her friends asked her why she seemed so content.  She said, "Because I believe that the infinite, personal God made us, and we're not simple part of nature.  We are created in the image of God.  Evil is not just something out there that looks unpleasant; it is truly evil because it's contrary to Him.  God has made Himself known in the Bible.  The paramount idea of the Bible is the person of Jesus Christ who came to save us from sin.  Through Him we can know God and enjoy everything He has given. We can die in hope."

Some may call it a cop-out.  Others may call it Truth.  But as for me, that's the only reason worth living.

Lord, help me to not fall into the trap that pleasure and possessions will make me content and joyful.  I don't need money, or cars, or houses, or fancy vacations.  I just want Jesus.  Help me to seek Him above everything else this world has to offer.  I know it's not my natural position, so please help me to do it with Your strength.  I just want You, God.  Only You can satisfy.