Thursday,  June 26th
Reading for today:   Ecclesiastes 1-6


Wow.  The first six chapters of Ecc. on a dreary, rainy morning.   I may have to medicate in order to have the energy to make it to lunchtime.     Okay, seriously...there are some real gems hidden just below the surface in these chapters.

Solomon says that all things are cyclical.  "what has been will be again".   I take some measure of comfort in knowing that fact, because it means there are "second chances" to improve, or try other things.   A barber once told me that the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is "two weeks".   Some cycles are short, like mowing the grass.  Others are long, like raising children.   I think I understand what Solomon is saying here.  I think he's saying "what's the sense in doing anything, whether right or wrong?   Because it's all going to end, and then begin new again anyway,  so what's the point?"

But then he gives us the point several times  in 2:24 and 3:22 he says "eat, drink and enjoy your work".  Find a job that you enjoy and work at that while you are here on earth.   This is our lot.   Homes will be built and they will crumble.  Kingdoms will be built, and they will crumble.  Fortunes will be won and lost, children will be raised, grow old and pass away.   This is the way of things.   So, find something that you enjoy doing, and invest yourself in that.

Does it mean that your labor will last forever?  No.   If you do something you enjoy will you be remembered longer than others?  No.   What's the point?   The point is:  this is the way God intended it to be.    Think back to the garden of eden.   What was the point of life there?   To work in the garden, enjoy time with conversing with God and being with your mate.

Nothing has changed.

Find a job that brings you satisfaction, and adds a sense of meaning and purpose to your life.   Don't obsess about the pay.   Rich and poor end up in the same place.   Don't obsess about fame,  history chooses who will be remembered, and it isn't always the person trying to be famous.    Remember the widow who put her mite into the collection?     Famous.

You know something?    I think the sun is coming out.     I'm going to mow the grass, rearrange some clutter, prepare a sermon that will soon be forgotten by most.... and enjoy every minute of it.

PR