"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 2:11
The whole book of Ecclesiastes is kind of asking "What is the point?" ... What is the point of life, why are we here, why do we do what we do, etc. It's a big theme in the scriptures, although often less obviously stated, and this also seems to be a big theme of normal life I think... everyone at some point kind of asking the same thing. What is the point of all of this? Why am I living this life or going through these motions? What does it all accomplish?
This verse temporarily concludes that there is no point to the works and labor put forward. It seems pointless in the moment. We often feel similarly--that there is "no profit" in anything that we do, and that whatever we work towards seems empty.
I think that this verse, and so many times in our lives where we feel similarly, are calls to look deeper and to find things that truly matter. Our daily work isn't always going to be fulfilling, and there isn't always going to be a deeper point to all of the things that we have to do in our lives, but there are a lot of things that do truly matter, and we can dedicate at least some parts of our lives to things like that. So, I guess that the question is... what truly matters?
Ecclesiastes concludes that keeping the commandments of God is the work of man. One thing that matters, probably because it has eternal impact. It's a good conclusion, but God's commandments are pretty broad, and they also incorporate work, so coming back to this verse... if we are working at the commandment of God (as in supporting our families, etc.), then it isn't all pointless. :) But also we can break it down further. Some things matter and last and some things don't. It's a good thing to think on and decide for ourselves. So much of what takes up our time and attention everyday really doesn't matter, but often the way that we do all of it does. Those small interactions with others... the relationships that we are building (or breaking)... the way that everything that we do impacts who we are. It's usually those small things that are building us into the people that we become, and those tiny things that form this society that we live in.
Today, let's take some time to think about what we are doing. It's a new year, and a good time to change it up and make things a little bit more meaningful. Let's let go of some of the things that don't matter, and embrace more of the things that do. Let's try to make the little things count... treating other people with respect and kindness, and let's try to be the people that we want to become. Let's work with God to make our lives and the world around us better than ever before.
Ecclesiastes 2:11
The whole book of Ecclesiastes is kind of asking "What is the point?" ... What is the point of life, why are we here, why do we do what we do, etc. It's a big theme in the scriptures, although often less obviously stated, and this also seems to be a big theme of normal life I think... everyone at some point kind of asking the same thing. What is the point of all of this? Why am I living this life or going through these motions? What does it all accomplish?
This verse temporarily concludes that there is no point to the works and labor put forward. It seems pointless in the moment. We often feel similarly--that there is "no profit" in anything that we do, and that whatever we work towards seems empty.
I think that this verse, and so many times in our lives where we feel similarly, are calls to look deeper and to find things that truly matter. Our daily work isn't always going to be fulfilling, and there isn't always going to be a deeper point to all of the things that we have to do in our lives, but there are a lot of things that do truly matter, and we can dedicate at least some parts of our lives to things like that. So, I guess that the question is... what truly matters?
Ecclesiastes concludes that keeping the commandments of God is the work of man. One thing that matters, probably because it has eternal impact. It's a good conclusion, but God's commandments are pretty broad, and they also incorporate work, so coming back to this verse... if we are working at the commandment of God (as in supporting our families, etc.), then it isn't all pointless. :) But also we can break it down further. Some things matter and last and some things don't. It's a good thing to think on and decide for ourselves. So much of what takes up our time and attention everyday really doesn't matter, but often the way that we do all of it does. Those small interactions with others... the relationships that we are building (or breaking)... the way that everything that we do impacts who we are. It's usually those small things that are building us into the people that we become, and those tiny things that form this society that we live in.
Today, let's take some time to think about what we are doing. It's a new year, and a good time to change it up and make things a little bit more meaningful. Let's let go of some of the things that don't matter, and embrace more of the things that do. Let's try to make the little things count... treating other people with respect and kindness, and let's try to be the people that we want to become. Let's work with God to make our lives and the world around us better than ever before.
No comments:
Post a Comment