On Money and Happiness

We are such a privileged people. Seriously--who wouldn’t want to live in this century?  We have so much that previous generations never had. Think of airplanes, vehicles, computers, Rock Band, TV, radio, cell phones, natural gas, electricity, indoor toilets, mega grocery chains, and much, much more that we won't think of because it is commonplace to us. Never mind that some of this technology is only 20 or 30 years old. I sometimes wonder if all that hasn’t clouded our minds and kept us too busy thinking about things that have no lasting value. They are but temporary pleasures that mean nothing in the reality of eternity.

There are enough resources in this world for all of us to be comfortably wealthy...ALL of us. Yet, it’s all owned by a handful of families. That’s the reality of the world.  Therefore there’s always going to be violence, injustice and sin. There will always be someone bigger with more authority. Why? The more we have, the more we want. Our greed takes no rest. It is never enough and money is a way to get us where we want to go, and so it corrupts.  Yet we wilfully overlook the fact that money can sprout wings and fly, and suddenly.  Money is no guarantee of anything and it doesn’t guarantee happiness.  

The truth is, contentment is hard to find on any level. We’re not satisfied with money (ask the rich), we’re not satisfied without money (ask the poor). We’re not happy with the way things are run in our lives, in our economy, in our world. We try to usurp authority, whether it is in government, in church, in our homes. We have so much, and yet we’re not happy.

Why does happiness elude us? Solomon sums it up in verse 18-20 of chapter 5:

“Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

God enables us to enjoy wealth and possessions, our work, our lot in life. Just having money doesn’t guarantee happiness.  We need His favor in our lives.

I found that last verse interesting too. How many of you know people that live in the past. All they do is relive their youth; their glory days. However, someone that God has given the ability to enjoy his days doesn’t dwell on the past. He is content with his life today. That certainly is a gift, whether rich or poor!

I came across this little video a while ago and it just tickled my funny bone. The embedding has been disabled, so you’ll have to follow this link if you’d like to see it. Enjoy!

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy!

Thank you all for visiting! Come back soon!

Sacrifice of Fools

Most days you will see me in jeans and a shirt because that is how I'm the most comfortable. When I go to church, I am usually wearing a pair of clean jeans. I believe that God is not as concerned about what we wear as He is about who we are. Of course, there is protocol with God—but it’s not so much about the clothes we wear. This is where we begin chapter 5.

First of all, God doesn’t play games. He knows us at the core of our beings and we can’t fool Him. When we come to Him we are approaching the Author of life! Our lives are a mere vapor in His hands! Still, for some reason He is mindful of us. Even more mind boggling than this, He actually loves us--even in the quagmire of our humanity. What we don't always realize, is that God is a realist. He doesn’t play around with our lives (actually, that would be us), there is too much at stake.

If you were invited to meet the Queen of England, how would you approach her? Apparently there’s a whole team of people delegated to make sure you use the correct protocol. She is but a representative; an earthly Queen.

How then should we approach God?

The only way to approach God is with awed reverence and honesty, realizing Who He is! He is worthy of our awe and reverence, our praise and worship! If we’re honest with ourselves, we realize there’s really nothing much we can say to God that He isn’t already aware of. So when you come, open your ears, listen carefully and watch your words so you don’t give the sacrifice of fools.

Speaking of words, many years ago I read a little book called “The Power of the Tongue.” It claims our words are powerful and can set a whole forest ablaze! Have you ever witnessed a forest fire? Just watching it leaves a huge impact, not to mention the damage it leaves behind. As we watch, we realize that once it’s been set, it’s very hard to control.  It is very much like that with our words. We often don’t realize the damage we are doing with them--and not just to others, also to ourselves. Their reach goes beyond what we can imagine.

                                                                                [photo of Lillooet Fire]

Remember that little saying...”sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me?” Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” It seems our words have some pretty amazing power. 

An encouraging word has the power to pull someone out of depression; give someone that boost they need to try something new; make someone feel better about some aspect of their life. Words that curse also do things. They make people angry, bitter, resentful, and even vengeful. They bring hurt not only to the hearer, but also the giver of them. What kind of words do you speak?

That said, I am also guilty of saying things I shouldn’t say. Before I realize it the words are out of my mouth and the damage is done. Sound familiar?  It’s just foolishness! It’s better to say nothing at all. 

I’m only responsible for the thoughts I accept. Just because I’m thinking it, doesn’t mean it’s my thought! We have so many things bombarding us through television and radio programs.  Music is also a huge culprit. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught myself thinking lyrics I don’t agree with. I’m so drawn to the beauty of the music that I don’t always realize the words I’m listening to. Very subtle! 

It would be wise to examine the thoughts we are having. In other words, if the thought in your mind doesn’t line up with what you believe...don’t speak it! While you’re at it, purposefully recognize that thought and discard it by replacing it with a true thought that you do believe.  Our thoughts are intertwined with who we are and who we become. This is one way that we battle the lies we are bombarded with on a daily basis. I believe that the cleaner and purer our thoughts are, the easier it will be to hear that still small voice that we so desperately need to listen to. 

Try it, you'll like it!

Well, we only got partway through Chapter 5—but then, what’s the hurry? I’ve realized that I often try to cover too much in one post, so I’m taking things a little slower. 

Thank you for visiting! I appreciate your comments and insights!

Life Isn't Fair!

                                                         Courtesy: Flickr, zoomar's photostream

There is one question that most people have asked themselves at one time or another. It doesn’t matter whether they believe in God or not, they still ask it.   

If God is a God of love, why does He allow bad things to happen?

Most of us have noticed that life isn’t fair. Good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people.  Solomon tells us that there are times and seasons in our lives. In essence he is saying that God has a perfect plan that includes everything we need, including the bad and the good. 

I've realized that the sum of everything I’ve experienced makes me who I am today. I am thankful for the bad and the good things of my life. Not because I like bad things to happen to me, but because I know that God has a purpose in allowing me to go through them. As well, we sometimes do things or say things that inevitably bring us to bad places in our lives. The good thing is, if we survive them, we can learn from them. This is our freewill in motion! God allows freewill because He wants people that truly love Him...not puppets that merely serve Him.

Motivated by envy and ambition; the strong prey on the weak and the helpless, and therefore injustice thrives.  Solomon observes that, “all skill in work comes from man’s rivalry with his neighbour.” I thought that was interesting because it tells us something we’re probably not immediately aware of when we go about doing things. It’s not necessarily that we want the biggest house, the most expensive car, the most appealing spouse. Although it’s nice to have those things, what we actually want is to be admired and recognized! Look at me! I’ve done well for myself...I’m a self made whatever. What it comes down to is a selfish search for significance, without God.

To be honest, I don’t desire abundant riches. Oh sure, I like to spend money once in a while—but if I don’t, I’ll do with what I have.  I’m fairly easy going as far as that’s concerned. “Better is a handful with quietness than both hands full with painful effort.” There’s much to be said for living that way if you ask me.

  I know of a man who worked at a very well paying job. When he was done his hours at the job, he spent a good deal of time going through garbage bins, etc. Here is the strange thing...the guy was already a millionaire. He was also a miser; not willing to spend money on the things that were needed, let alone things that were wanted. So when he died, the first thing his wife did was fix all the things around the house that had been neglected for years. Then she bought some things she’d been wanting. Some of the money went to his adult kids, whom he never really had great relationships with. 

He never stopped to ask the question, “why am I working so hard for money I don’t need, when tomorrow I may die?”

Painful effort and vain striving—it’s meaningless.

I am so thankful that I have a great husband and good friends. People I can rely on, and who can rely on me.  The one thing that I value above all other things is relationship. We can’t take anything from this earth with us; though many have tried, as evidenced by the treasures found in the tombs of ancient Egypt. If we take anything from this world, it will be the relationships which extend beyond our lives on earth. I truly believe that the end of this life is the beginning of eternity.

Solomon seems to value relationships too. It's true that we need each other, but Solomon goes beyond that. “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” My husband quoted that scripture to me when we were going out, and before we were married. I had no idea what it meant at the time, but now I know.  A relationship that includes God is not quickly broken.

This raises a side note. I know that the divorce rate in churches is as high as in the secular world. It’s scriptures like this that make me wonder why this is happening in our churches. Are we taking seriously God’s commands and living as we ought? Are we Christians in name only? God forbid!  Perhaps that’s a topic for another time.

The next phrase is interesting. Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer heeds a warning. Now that I’m getting a little older myself, I can relate to this one. As we get older, we seem to resist change. We also think that we’re older and wiser. The truth is, things change, and that is very observable in our present age of technology. I know I don’t need to expound on this as most of you have children. ;) Age doesn’t guarantee wisdom, or knowledge, for that matter.

However, we choose whether we learn from our experiences or not. When you think you’ve arrived, you’re probably pretty far behind, as I’ve learned. It’s like I said in an earlier post, the more we learn, the more we realize we don’t know.

Wisdom is different than knowledge; it comes through utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight.  There is much wisdom available to us in the Bible, but we can still lack wisdom if we don’t take it to heart and apply it to our lives.  Even those who come after us, endowed with knowledge but not having wisdom, will repeat the same mistakes. That is why history repeats itself; that is why there’s nothing new under the sun. We think we’re so smart...but are we?

So this too is meaningless—and the earth continues to turn on its axis, and we continue to wonder.

What is the purpose to life?

Why are we here?

*I’ve really been enjoying your comments on my past posts on Ecclesiastes.  They have been spot on and in many ways address the answers we’re looking for. LOL!  But that’s a good thing I suppose! I love your insights!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Turn, Turn, Turn

I’m reminded of a famous song often abbreviated to “Turn, Turn, Turn.”  The lyrics were lifted almost word for word from the book of Ecclesiastes and were sung by a number of different artists; most famously, The Byrds.  Here is the original in Ecclesiastes:

To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Life is full of seasons! There is no living in the now. Not really. The “now” is ever changing into the “past” and the “future.” Truly, we cannot live only in this moment, nor were we created to exist only in what happens this very moment. There is so much more to life than existentialism.

Was all of it just meant to keep us busy?  I would guess that someone wants to show us something—but what?

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds (a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing *under the sun* but God alone can satisfy), yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

The fact that I question this is proof enough for me that the reason I struggle so much with this earthly existence, is that things are not meant to be like this forever. There is definitely an internal longing for more.

God has planted eternity into our hearts and minds. A longing that is an implanted sense of purpose-- that only God can satisfy. You could say that as long as we ignore that longing, it is void, empty, unfulfilled. It needs to be filled—with God.

“And God does it so that men will (reverently) fear Him (revere and worship Him, knowing that He is).”

That word fear doesn’t mean being scared of Him. It’s a respect, a reverence and an understanding of who He is. God wants a relationship with us. He wants a relationship that puts Him first in our lives, knowing that without Him--what’s the point? We are made to go deeper than what this vapor of life; this momentary existence offers. We are made for eternity. We are made for God.

Solomon goes on to say that God is trying us. He is sifting and separating us. “So that we may see that by ourselves (under the sun, without God), we are but beasts.“ The same fate certainly happens to man and beast. We all die, and we are but dust in the wind.

Aren’t we basically good people inside though?

I know of people who have walked into a prison and talked to murderers, child molesters, etc., and asked them if they’re good. They’ll all tell you they’re basically good people—sure they messed up here and there, but basically they’re good.

Did you notice that the reason God tries us is so that we may see ourselves as we really are. God already knows who we are—but He wants us to see it. We look at ourselves with rose colored glasses on. We forgive ourselves so easily, but who are we really?

I’ll leave you with that question. 

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world! I so appreciate your comments and insights!

Under the Sun

If only.

We like to think about it. We love to fantasize about it. We believe it will make all the difference in the world.

If only I could do whatever I wanted...

If only I was like him/her...

If only I were rich...

Then I would... be happy ; be a somebody;  have no worries; (insert your own here).

Do you ever spend any time thinking about this stuff? Would any of those things really make a difference? Well, I think that it would make a big difference--for a while anyway, until the circle we’ve created starts spinning out of control, or (heaven forbid) gets boring. For as long as we live our lives “under the sun,”  none of it will ever really fulfill our deepest need.

How we love to enjoy ourselves! Slogans and sayings, such as “Just Do It, Live for Today, Take Care of #1, We’re here for a good time, not a long time,” are all reflective of a lifestyle lived under the sun.

What’s wrong with enjoying ourselves? Well--nothing really--everything in moderation. As long as we don’t expect it to make us completely and eternally happy!

Let’s see what Solomon says: “And WHATEVER my eyes desired I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from ANY pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my portion and the reward for all my toil."

Whoa Solomon...there’s a whole lot of stuff in whatever and any.

This king spent his time enjoying many pleasures and doing great works (houses, vineyards, gardens, orchards), He had many, many servants, gold and riches (apparently silver was worth little in his days since he owned so much of it). He was a great king who was heralded for his wisdom.  Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? If only we were like Solomon...right?

Solomon doesn’t stop there, but goes on to say: “and behold, all was emptiness and a striving after the wind, and there was no profit under the sun; what can the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing but what has been done already.”

So...what’s the point?  I’m sometimes flummoxed by the rich and famous. They seem to have everything they could possibly want. More wine, guilty pleasures and money than most ...yet eventually all they end up with is emptiness. Why? They no longer derive any pleasure from it. Some need counseling and rehab just to get back to normal--all the while regretting the wasted years. Was it all meaningless in the end?

As we read on, Solomon becomes discouraged and asks “For what has a man left from all his labor and from the striving and vexation of his heart in which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are but pain and sorrow, and his work is a vexation and grief; his mind takes no rest even at night. This also is emptiness.”

Then he comes to a premature conclusion and states that there is nothing better for a man than that he should eat, drink and be merry (sound familiar?). And almost as an afterthought, "even though this is from the hand of God."

Hmmm--interesting! That's right, God does want us to enjoy our lives. I guess it got Solomon thinking...and the following verse is a gem--a bright, glimmering bolt of truth:

“For who can eat or who can have enjoyment any more than I can (Solomon, the man who had everything!)--apart from Him?

What’s Solomon saying?

It’s all futile without a hope in God.

And that’s where I’m going to end this post. Thanks for visiting my little corner of the world!

The Circle of Life

Image Courtesy "Views of the Solar System"

What if?

What if you were in a position of leadership and had ultimate wealth? Let’s say you were living at a time of peace and had nothing but free time on your hands. Then what if you also had a very keen, knowledgeable mind and were curious to discover what life was all about? What is the purpose of life and why are we here?

Ecclesiastes—it’s been called the inspired book of error.  It is one of my favorite books, and possibly also one of the most misquoted books. The very rich and wise author of Ecclesiastes was a King who lived at a time of prosperity and peace, and who set about to answer the questions I’ve asked above. The significance of this book is that it looks at life from the viewpoint of both a human and eventually a divine perspective.

In his quest for understanding, the King begins the book with this phrase:

Vapors of vapors and futility of futilities, says the Preacher, Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities! All is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and vainglory).

In other words... everything is utterly meaningless!

This is probably the reason so many people don’t read Ecclesiastes. They believe Solomon was depressed when he wrote it. They claim he was in a state of backsliding and did things he shouldn’t have. Well, I can’t argue that he did some surprising things in his quest to get understanding. However, I don’t believe he was depressed. 

The book has some amazing insights throughout, and if you hang on until the end, you realize that there is a light at the end of this sometimes very dark tunnel of an existence.

All the philosophies that people have tried to live their lives by are attended to in this book. He covers it all. He tries it all. He withholds nothing. Then he graciously shares it with us in the hope that we can escape much of it and come to the final conclusion through the words of his journey.

At times I drive myself crazy thinking circles around it. What is the point of our existence?

This is the first item that Solomon covers; the circle of life.

He looks at mankind: We get up, go to work, go to sleep, get up, go to work, go to sleep...

Our generations: “One generation dies, and another generation is born...” Vs.4

Our days and nights: The sun rises, the sun goes down, then it rises...

The wind: “It goes to the south, and circles about to the north, it circles and circles about continually, and on its circuit, the wind returns again.” On and on and on....

The rivers: “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place which the rivers come, to there and from there they return again.” Another circle.

When looking at ourselves, no matter what we do or where we are in life, are we ever satisfied?  What has been will be again, for there is nothing new under the sun. We lose the knowledge of the ages, and in turn, future generations will lose the knowledge of our time.  They know now that in ancient times, they did cataract surgery (prior to 1 B.C.), brain surgery (3000 B.C.), cosmetic surgery (1 B.C.) and other types of surgeries.

http://www.crystalinks.com/ancientmedicine.html

I want to point out that there is a lot of truth in the Ecclesiastical passages above. We see and experience these things every day. They are common knowledge, and from a purely human point of view, this is what life seems to amount to. There is a reason for that.

Solomon goes on to say that, “Even wisdom brings vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” I’ve noticed that the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know, and then I go about to learn more, only to find that there’s still more to learn, and the circle continues in a never ending spiral.

The older I get, the more I begin to understand people. I look at myself and see the things that are dark and dangerous. I look at my past and I sorrow over my own foolishness—but yet I’m helpless to change it. I try to be a better person, but often fall back into that same old person that I want to change...it’s kind of like losing weight.

Solomon’s findings are that the universe goes on and we are lost in its grasp. This philosophy is the conclusion of reductionism: the belief that life can be reduced to mere mechanistic processes. There is no soul, no spirit, no God. The universe is a machine. We are machines with no significance, no meaning.

Before I depress you, remember that it takes at least two for a debate, and there is still another perspective on all of this. It is that apart from God, there really is no meaning to our existence. Then, we truly are just  bits of dust spinning around on a little fleck of a planet in the grinding gears of a mechanistic universe.  Our meaning lies in a hope, or a belief if you will. There is a God and nothing has any true and lasting meaning or value without this basic understanding.

Point of Interest: Scientists didn’t discover the circuit of the wind until centuries after Solomon wrote this. They also did not understand the evaporation cycle of the waters .

I hope this hasn’t been too detailed. I would love to cover some of the other things Solomon looked at in his quest to find the meaning of life in future posts.

Thanks for visiting!

The Company One Chooses

“Lazarus, Come Forth!”

These have to be some of the most powerful words on record that Jesus spoke. With them, he penetrated through death and into life. Effectually, He stirred the power of death using words of light, and with them He offered Lazarus another chance at life.

In a myriad of ways this passage speaks through many, many centuries, for those are the very words he speaks when he calls us to him.

Prior to this, when Martha realized what Jesus was going to do, she saw nothing but barriers. “But Lord, it’s been too many days...by now he stinketh!” Yet, a little stink didn’t hold Jesus back, and I’m so glad it didn’t. Especially when I realize that—well--we all stinketh when He calls. He knows and sees the possibilities that He can work into us because He is the potter, we are the clay.

Then another amazing thing happened.

“And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him and let him go.” John 11:44

First, he came forth from the grave bound. Lazarus could do nothing. He was completely bound from head to foot. His wrappings would have made it impossible to move, to see, and probably hard to hear. Could it be this is how He finds us?

Second, his friends unwrapped him. Whether we like it or not--we need each other through this journey. Some are like a balm, others like sandpaper, and we need both. We learn best and most often, through the challenges we face, and yet we all need the encouragement that others have to offer.

Death... It is something so familiar to us, and yet unfamiliar because we don’t realize that we are dead and in need of a Saviour. In Christ’s view, that is how He finds us...dead in our sins; unaware of our condition. In our view, death is what awaits us, and as mortal men our bodies will die. Yet it is the second death we really want to avoid. The death of the soul.

This is where He offers us hope.

We need strong friends by our side who journey with us through this life. I am so thankful for these friends and value them immensely. Those you choose as friends will impact you immeasurably, make no mistake about this. You will become like them; for our good or otherwise. Choose carefully and value those you choose.

I want to end with this little poem:

The Company One Keeps

One day in late October, when I was far from sober

Returning with my load with manly pride

My feet began to stutter, so I lay down in the gutter

And a pig came near and lay down by my side.

--A lady passing by was heard to say:

“You can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses,”

And the pig got up and slowly walked away.

Author Unknown

Thanks for visiting!

Please leave me a comment...I love to hear from you!

Bubblin' Crude

Today there’s a song going through my head. Remember those wacky, backward, oblivious kinfolk, the Beverly Hillbillies? That’s the show...and this was the song:

Come and listen to the story of a man named Jed.

A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed.

And then one day he was shooting for some food

And up through the ground come a bubblin’ crude

Oil that is,

Black gold,

Texas teeth!

Well the first thing you know ol' Jed’s a millionaire

The kinfolk said, “Jed, move away from there!”

Said, “Californy’s the place you ought to be.”

So they loaded up their truck and they moved to Beverly.

Hills that is...

Swimming pools,

Movie stars.

Photo Courtesy Wikipedia

I used to love watching the Beverly Hillbillies! They were aliens in a foreign world. They brought their strange ways with them, which was often a challenge for them and those around them. Yet, they lived happily in a neighborhood that was unfamiliar to them. They were amongst people whose customs were strange and different from what they were used to. In so many ways, we’re just like those hillbillies. One day we come upon some bubblin’ crude, and we are changed forever!

Oil....The world fights for it....People die for it....The rich are corrupted because of it.

Bubblin’ crude seems to envision something alive, and in many ways it is, for it changes those who possess it. We need oil for many things in this world...so it is worth much. We also have an inordinate desire for wealth, power, ease of living...and oil makes much of that possible. Yet often it leads us on a path to war, death and corruption.

The good thing is, there’s another kind of oil.

Some refer to it as the pearl of great price.

When men find this oil, it also changes them. They begin a journey to live in a world which no longer relates to them, and often they do so happily. However, some are foolish and begin to take things for granted. Then one day they wake up and realize that their oil is running out and that soon they will no longer be able to see; for the oil brings light and without it they walk in darkness.

Unfortunately, this is where some have found themselves. They suddenly realize that they have compromised themselves to the world and are peering through the darkness in futility, thinking there was still enough light. Unlike the oil of the world, this oil is free for the asking and there is enough for everyone...so they are without excuse.

Do you have more than you need for your journey... or do you live life foolishly, thinking that a little light is enough to light the pathway ahead?

My cry is, give me oil in my lamp and keep me burning! I desire to live in the light! I want to be the best ambassador that I can be. I don't want to compromise! God help me!

Is your crude a bubblin’?

Is it spilling over?

John 1:4,5

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehends it not.”

Matthew 6:33

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Thanks for visiting!

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas! Thank you for visiting me in my little corner of the world! May your Christmas be filled with family, friends and fun! May you have hope, faith, love and an enduring belief in the One who made it all possible!

With love and hugs,

Jesus and Santa