Ecclesiastes 9:11

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."
Ecclesiastes 9:11


This was kind of funny after I thought about it for a while, though initially it was a little depressing... I thought, so... what?  You work your butt off, and for what?  ... But seriously, even if you lose your butt over it, the truth is... life doesn't owe us anything. :)  We often think it does.  In one of my education classes we were discussing the pros and cons of programs that give every school the same amount of money instead of them getting more or less according to property values in the area.  And a few of the people said that they didn't think that their schools should get less, just because the other people hadn't worked as hard to provide for their children.  I thought that was an interesting argument, but if you consider it in light of this scripture, isn't the very premise faulty?  Do wealthy people really work harder than poor people?  Do we believe that?  It isn't true.  Some people work harder every day than I will *ever* work, and still don't have some of the basic things that I have... a roof over my head, food to eat... etc.  Every single one of us, no matter the circumstances, is *absolutely* reliant on God for not only everything that he or she gains... but in merely retaining what he or she has.  This isn't to say that we should all just quit our jobs and stay home and pray... but it isn't forbidding you from doing so either.  The story of Mary and Martha comes to mind... Martha was "careful and worried" about many things... but Mary chose to sit with Christ and learn rather than helping Martha around the house.  In our society we are encouraged to be Martha... to take care of everything else before we take time for God.  But isn't that mixing up our priorities as well?  God definitely wants us to be clean, organized... etc.  But we should be putting God ahead of all that, every time.  Today, let's remember our reliance on him, and endeavor to put him ahead of all the rest.