money misery

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

LOVE IT, AND WATCH IT GO AWAY

January 2016 (15)Ecclesiastes 5:10-12

10 Someone who loves money will never be satisfied with the money he has, nor someone who loves wealth with his current income. This fact testifies to the impermanence of money. 11 The more things you get, the more consumers there will be to eat them up, and what good is this for the owner? He just watches the process. 12 A hard worker sleeps well, no matter how much he eats, but the full stomach of the rich man will not allow him to sleep.

money misery

The collector had organised and sponsored and supervised numerous work projects. He spent many sleepless nights worrying about meeting deadlines and accomplishing his goals. He had all the money he could ever want, but it was never enough to fill the void itself. Ironically, he envied those workers who essentially had nothing, but slept soundly every night from a hard day’s work.

Now, as an old man, he reflects on the misery that all that money brought him. He reveals that wealth had been a stress causer rather than a stress reliever. Even when he had it all, most of his time was spent watching it go away.

LORD, show us how to set our sights on something more permanent than that which can fit in our pockets.

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supervision

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

SOMEONE IS WATCHING

January 2016 (14)Ecclesiastes 5:8-9

8 If you are overseeing a province and you catch someone oppressing its poor people, and doing unjust and unrighteous things, do not be surprised that it happened. Because the overseer is being watched by someone over him, and both are being watched by yet higher ones. 9 This set-up profits the land in every way. It means that a king is committed to cultivating all his fields.

supervision

Depravity is built into the DNA of human beings. The idea that we are all basically good is not only naïve, it is unbiblical. If you have a supervisory position, sooner or later you will catch someone doing something unethical. Solomon recognized this fact, and suggested that a multi-layer oversight system makes for a healthy society.

LORD, thank you for those who watch over us, protecting us from harming ourselves and others.

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not number one

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHOSE REPUTATION MATTERS MOST?

January 2016 (13)Ecclesiastes 5:4-7

4 If you actually promise something to God, do not wait to make good your promise, because he is not pleased by such foolishness. Pay what you promise. 5 In fact, it would be better not to promise anything than to promise and not pay. 6 Do not let that mouth of yours cause you to sin, and do not excuse your promise by claiming it was a mistake. Why cause God to be angry at your excuse and destroy what you have accomplished? 7 Because when the nightmares keep coming, and words mount, it shows how impermanent life is. God is the one who should matter to you.

not number one

The collector remembered all those times when he entered the temple and boasted of building this and giving that. He remember that some of those times they were empty boasts, and he did not carry out his promises. When that happened, it was God’s reputation that was damaged. It would be better to not promise anything than to promise and not fulfil the promise. The wise person is considerate of God, because he is number one, and we are not.

LORD, make us sensitive to your reputation, and humble.

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showing off in church

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHOSE GLORY ARE YOU SEEKING?

January 2016 (12)Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

1 Watch how you walk when you go to the house of God. Drawing near for the purpose of listening is better than merely offer gifts like fools, because they do not even know they are acting improperly. 2 Do not be impulsive with that mouth of yours, and do not let your heart hurry to say what it wants to say to God, because God lives in the sky and you are on the land. For that reason, you should keep your words few. 3 Because a nightmare comes from working too hard, and too many words reveal a fool’s voice.

showing off in church

The collector reflects on how he had abused religion to bolster his own ego, and to drive his own ambition. He used to go to the temple just to brag about all his accomplishments in public. And – once there, he could not resist the temptation to vow to build more things “for the glory of God.” He could not resist the temptation to “give to God” more stuff – stuff God never asked for, and does not need. It was never about God, and it never really glorified God. It was all for the purpose of Solomon feeding his own desire for self-glorification.

So, now an older and wiser man, Solomon advises the next generation – and ours – to shut up and listen when they go to church. Real religion does not consist of showing off before the public. It consists of “caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”[1]

LORD, we approach you with repentance and ask you to help us to keep our stupid mouths shut when we enter your presence in public. Teach us to listen to your word, and demonstrate humility, not self-glory.

[1] James 1:27 NLT.

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losing touch as a leader

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

LONELY AT THE TOP

January 2016 (11)Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

13 It was better to be a poor and wise young man than an old and foolish king who did not know how to follow good counsel. 14 Because he had gone from prison to power, though in his own dominion he had been born poor. 15 I observed all the living creatures moving around under the sun, including that young man who is standing in the king’s place. 16 I could not count all the people he was responsible for leading. Still, his successors would not enjoy his accomplishment. This reality also shows life’s impermanence. It is like striving after wind.

losing touch as a leader

There are various guesses as to which historical people and events are being referred to. My guess is that if the collector is alluding to history, he refers to Joseph’s story. But, he may be referring to a well-known fictional story.[1] His point is in the story itself. It shows the impermanence of political success. Striving to get at the top of the political ladder can isolate a person from the very people one needs to listen to – to avoid losing touch with those one seeks to serve. Fame and power can be bought, but the price is often too high.

LORD, give us the wisdom to listen to all those we lead. Do not allow us to lose touch with the hearts of those who might object to our leadership.

[1] See Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 1993), 308.

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partnership

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

ALONE DOES NOT WORK WELL

January 2016 (10)Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

9 Two are better than one, since they each have someone else to benefit from their work. 10 Because even if they both fall, one of them will help his partner recover. But the one who is alone suffers and does not have another to help him recover. 11 Likewise, if two are lying together, they keep each other warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 Also, a single man might win in a fight with another alone, but two will defend themselves. A rope made of three parts is not easily broken.

partnership

In life, in business, and in ministry, partnership is just more efficient. A partner is someone you can depend on to make up for what lacks in yourself. A partner is someone to share successes and failures with. A Partner can help prevent failure, or help recover from it. A partner can help a successful person avoid pride in his accomplishment. A partner can share the joy earned from mutual accomplishment. Partnership increases the strength available for the work.

LORD, thank you for our partners. We value them as a gift from you. Show us how to display our appreciation for them so that they always know.

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retirement as a fix

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO?

January 2016 (9)Ecclesiastes 4:7-8

7 Once again I concluded that impermanence is under the sun: 8 one man can have no other dependent, neither a son nor a brother, but still work without ever resting, and his eyes can never be satisfied with gaining more wealth, so that he never thinks to ask, “who am I working for and denying myself of life’s pleasure?” This is yet another example of impermanence and a sad state of affairs.

retirement as a fix

If we are honest, we in modern society probably wonder whether Solomon ever thought of retirement. It appears to be a fix to the dilemma he described. In retirement, all that you have worked for is not lost, because it is an investment in yourself. You do not deny yourself life’s pleasures, you simply delay them until you retire. Solomon’s society invested in retirement by investing in relatives who could take care of you if you were fortunate enough to outlive your capacity to work. But people mostly died young, so that investment was usually spent on something else than the earner. It was – as Solomon said – “yet another example of impermanence and a sad state of affairs.” I have had many friends and associates in the two-thirds world who lived and died that example.

Yet, even retirement – should any of us experience that luxury, does not really fix the problem of impermanence. The real problem of impermanence is that life does not last. The only real fix is to find a source of eternal life. Hence, the need for a Saviour.

LORD, we look to you, because only you offer a life that lasts.

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competition

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

LIVE LIKE AN ARTIST

January 2016 (8)Ecclesiastes 4:4-6

4 I also noticed that every project worked on, and every expertise gained by working comes from a man’s envy of his neighbour. Even this also is transient and a striving after wind. 5 The stupid one folds his hands and ends up eating his own flesh. 6 But even a handful gained in peace is better than two hands full gained by hard work and striving after wind.

competition

The collector examined the motivation behind the great scientific and industrial progress that his society has known. He, himself had been both the mastermind and the taskmaster of that great progress. Yet, when he examined the motivation behind it, he found a moral failure. The work had been driven by selfish ambition and envy. The workers had been forced to build monuments to pride that – in the end – would be found to be just air. They had worked hard at gaining something that could not be kept.

What motivates your work? Unless your work is for the glory of God and the advancement of his kingdom, your motivation is misplaced. Don’t do a lifetime of good things for the wrong reason. Live like an artist, not an athlete – even if you are an athlete!

LORD, focus our efforts on living a life that reflects you, not a life that just tries to be better than others.

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better off than the living

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

ARE WE REFLECTING GENTLENESS AND KINDNESS?

January 2016 (7)Ecclesiastes 4:1-3

1 I looked again at all the cruelties that are committed under the sun. I just watched, the tears of those maltreated, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2 And I reasoned that the dead who are already dead are better off than the living who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not experienced the evil deeds that are committed under the sun.

better off than the living

When the collector examined the society around him, he discovered more oppression and cruelty than he expected. He noticed that not only sometimes, but most times, people get a bad shake from those in power. It leads to suffering, cruelty without check. He concluded that power tends to corrupt, and those under that power live lives that experience the sharp end of that corruption. As a result, he concluded that it would be better not to have lived at all, rather than face such odds at living miserable.

Reading such texts, we have to be aware that this is only part of the argument. Otherwise, the observation could be misapplied, and used to justify things like abortion, genocide, and euthanasia. The collector did not have any of those things in mind, and if he did, he would have lumped them along with the other cruelties the powerful inflict on the powerless. No, his point is that society is broken, and people suffer needlessly all too often. Life is not fair.

LORD, forgive us for being part of a society that is cruel to the weak, and causes suffering. Holy Spirit, make your church a reflection of your gentleness and kindness.

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until Jesus

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHY THE WORLD NEEDS JESUS

January 2016 (6)Ecclesiastes 3:20-22

20 We all go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust we all return. 21 Who knows whether the breath of man goes upward and the breath of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I discovered that there is nothing better than that a man should enjoy his work, because that is his lot. Who can raise himself so he can see what will be after him?

until Jesus

Two very important questions are raised by the collector when he examines the reality of mortality. Solomon anticipates that the religious will object that humans are different – that when we die our breath goes to God. So he asks “who knows if it is true?” He’s not necessarily denying it. He’s simply stating that no one can prove it. Someone would have to come back from the dead to explain that it happens that way.

His second question builds upon that. He asks “Who can raise himself so he can see what will be after him?” The honest will respond to this question with “no one” as well.

The answers to those two questions will remain the same for centuries … until Jesus. Jesus was not only raised from the dead himself, he offered resurrection life to everyone who believes in him. Solomon prepared us for the gospel by exposing the naked truth of our own mortality.

LORD, show us how to tell the world that they really need resurrection life, and that it is only available through Christ.

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