Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

One of the reasons that I love Ecclesiastes so much is that it puts everything into perspective. So many times I get my hopes up about something. Sometimes those hopes are fulfilled. Other times, they are dashed. What's great about the perspective that Solomon gives is that the dude tried everything. And he learned from it. And he wrote about it. That's what's incredible to me. He goes out and tries everything there is to try to make himself happy - partying, women, drinking, work, wealth, planning, etc. But it all leads to the same meaningless existence here on earth. We're all headed to the grave no matter what we do here on earth. So the point of our lives must not be what we do here on earth, but how we plan for eternity.
And I love that he wrote all of this down. A lot of times people will get great insight from an experience, but they don't tell anybody about it. I've had close people in my life never tell me about themselves and what they've experienced and what they learned from those experiences.
That's what I get from Solomon. Live. Experience life. Keep things in perspective. And share your experiences. Help others learn. Life is best lived in community.
JM

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

I think we’re at our most joyful, our happiest when we’re doing simple things. When we take the time to enjoy the simple things in life: family, nature, friends, food, etc. Anytime I go on a long trip by myself, I listen to country music. I’m not really sure why, but it’s always country. Especially at night. I remember one night I was driving through the night from St. Louis down to Atlanta and this song came on while I was in Southern Illinois. I’ve only heard the song once and I don’t know the name (I’ll find it in a minute and post it below), but I could tell you several of the lines. It starts off with “If heaven were a time it would be twilight” and goes on to talk about hanging out on the porch watching the sunset and fireflies and spending time with family. That to me, is what we should be enjoying. The more we try to understand and know and succeed, the more we will ultimately fail. I want to enjoy the simple joy of being a child of God enjoying his creation.
I found the song. It's called "If Heaven" by Andy Griggs and it's definitely country.
JM

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

We painted our dining room last night. It's now like this really cool blue on top. We've got new furniture coming. A really nice square table with eight chairs and a nice buffet to put in there. We'll put down a nice rug, hang some curtains and put some stuff on the walls. When we're done the room will look really nice. But it will go out of style. Eventually this table that we bought will wear away. The kids will mess it up. The rug will have stuff spilled on it. New will become normal will become old. If my hope and my excitement are based solely in these types of things, then I'm going to be sorely disappointed every single time.
I don't think that means I need to sit around and just be sad or not try to accomplish anything. I think instead it just means to enjoy what I do and the time that God gives me. Enjoy the pursuit of God.
We're fascinated as a society with the accomplishment, but bored with the intricacies of the pursuit. We don't want to know about all of the work that went into it, we just want the finished product immediately. We don't want to work out in the gym, we want lipo. We don't want to date, we want to be married. We don't want to be pregnant, we want to hold the baby. We don't want to know God here, we want to know Him in heaven. How different would our lives be if instead we just enjoyed the pursuit. If we took the time not waiting for the accomplishment, but instead enjoying each moment that God gives me, not just the glorious ones.
We are slaves to our mortality. We try to hold off the advances of age. We try to place hope in tomorrow. But in reality, our life will always be meaningless outside of the passionate pursuit of God. Pursue Him. Enjoy it.
We painted our dining room last night. And I enjoyed it.
JM

Ecclesiastes 1

Anytime you are sad read Ecclesiastes. It always helps me. I love Ecclesiastes 1:18 "With much wisdom comes much disappointment; the person who gains more knowledge also gains more sorrow." JM