A LESSON FROM THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES
I
once spoke with a woman who had just returned from a vacation where she circumnavigated
the Mediterranean Sea by air, stopping for a few days each in many of the countries that
bordered the sea. Then, on the return
trip home, she stopped for a couple of days at the Canary Islands. It is a trip that most will only ever dream
about. It is an ancient and beautiful
part of Western and Near Eastern civilization.
It
is a journey through the old charm of the cities and castles of Spain,
the beaches of Southern France, and the historic and enchanting cities and countryside of Italy. Besides these, there are the very ancient
remnants of history in Egypt and the mysteries of the northern coast of Africa. And, of course, there are many of the roots of
our civilization to explore in Greece,
as well as the roots of our faith in Israel.
I
asked her about her trip and was myself excited to hear of her impressions. I wanted to listen to the wonder of the days
of her trip and what images of the past her expedition invoked. To my great surprise however, what she told
me were not her thoughts as she walked through the ruins of Athens or the old
city of Jerusalem. She did not tell me of the
beauty of the beaches and the climate that many consider the most pleasant in
the world. I heard nothing about the marvels
of the city of Rome and the wonder of the remnants of the old empire, nor about the
pyramids of Egypt.
When
I asked her about her trip, she reiterated to me her itinerary – the date when
she left her home, her stops in each country and how many days she spent in
each place, and the date she returned. I
learned about her flight plans and connections, her hotel accommodations, and
how well her schedule worked or what faults she discovered. The next time she would know better how to
plan the agenda and the itinerary so that there would be less delay. She told me which hotels to which she would
probably return, and which she would avoid.
I
was astounded by our conversation. It was really little more than a recounting of
flight and time schedules and hotel ratings.
Her criteria for a successful and rewarding trip were not what she was
able to see and experience, nor the thoughts and meditations that went with her
adventures. To this woman, everything
depended upon logistics. If the
itinerary worked, it was a good trip. If
there were too many failures in the schedule or (heaven forbid) a missed
flight, the trip was a disaster.
Although
few of us will tour the Mediterranean, to some degree we all may be able to understand this
perspective. Ours is a country blessed
with many very beautiful national parks.
The trouble comes in trying to plan a trip to visit these sites because
ours is also a very expansive country.
Many families try to take in as many parks as they possibly can in one
summer’s vacation.
The
planning and the itinerary become everything.
“We will leave early in the morning and try to make the Badlands of
South Dakota by nightfall. The next day
we will drive through the Badlands and the Black Hills. Then it is on to Devil’s
Tower and the Tetons before we head down to Utah and Arizona to visit
some of the parks like Arches National Park and the Grand Canyon. Then, to complete the loop,
we will head up to the Colorado Rockies and then back home.”
On
the map, it looks like an exciting vacation, but as the miles beat by, it
simply becomes an endurance test and one more park on our agenda to check off. A flat tire or a blown radiator
hose can ruin the whole trip.
Unfortunately,
this is the manner in which some Christians live their lives. The logistics of life take up so much of our
energy and planning that there is no time simply to enjoy the journey. We have mapped out so much for our lives that
we have not a moment to lose.
Since early childhood, we are asked to think of what we want to be when we grow up. Later, our high school counselors help us to list our life’s goals and the steps that we must take to achieve them. All of this is fine, but there is an ingredient that is missing. There is a perspective that we are not considering.
Since early childhood, we are asked to think of what we want to be when we grow up. Later, our high school counselors help us to list our life’s goals and the steps that we must take to achieve them. All of this is fine, but there is an ingredient that is missing. There is a perspective that we are not considering.
It
is easy to look at our lives as being greatly limited by time. We make goals for our lives based on the
assumption that we only have a limited number of years in which to achieve these
objectives. We have a goal to be out of
debt by the time we are 25 years old, make our first million and own our “dream
home” by the time we are 35, and retired at 50.
If we are able to retire young enough, we think, we have more years
simply to enjoy life.
That
is the world’s perspective. It is
understandable that it is this way, because coming from this viewpoint, the
short years that we have here on earth is all that there is. Our life becomes a race in which we hurriedly
attempt to do the work that is necessary so that we can have a few moments to
do the things that we think we would enjoy.
However,
even if we do achieve those years in which we are able to do these things, we are
so accustomed to our racing lifestyle, that these patterns continue. Now we are trying to pack as much fun into
our lives as we possibly can before we die.
We fly around the Mediterranean, ticking off all of the tourist spots
that we can in our agenda. Or, we drive
long, laborious miles over the freeway system of the United States in order to visit as many sites of natural beauty as we can. But there is no time to really enjoy these
sites. We must get on to the next one.
The
writer of the book of Ecclesiastes gives us another perspective in living and
in enjoying our lives. In teaching us
this point of view, he first poses a question and then states an observation:
“What
gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given
the children of man to be busy with” (Ecclesiastes 3:9-10 ESV).
This
is the dilemma in which the world finds itself.
Each of us has been given our 70 or 80 years of life. In this short life span, we have our work and
other things with which to occupy ourselves.
However, when we have said and done everything, what is the ultimate
benefit of these years? How is it that
we should view our years here on earth?
The
writer then gives us this perspective:
“He
(God) has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
I
think that the word “beautiful” was specifically chosen by the writer because
he is not talking merely about “getting things done,” as one would be if he
were approaching the subject from the viewpoint of the world.
Rather,
he is attempting to unlock the puzzle of how we are to enjoy life. If our years are so few and if our tasks have
no lasting benefit, what then is to be our attitude toward them? To gain this benefit of the enjoyment of each
part of our lives, we must see things from a new perspective. This perspective is what the author of
Ecclesiastes tells us next:
“Also,
he has put eternity into man’s heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV).
God
has placed within us an amazing perspective, which tells us that this life is not
all that there is. The reason I say that
it is amazing is because this perspective is universal among men, no matter
what their culture or faith. Not only is
it universal, but it is not based upon anything that we can understand. We cannot even conceive of the concept of
eternity, much less comprehend it. And
yet we long for it.
It
is this perspective of the eternal that really is the key to unlock the
aforementioned puzzle of how we are to enjoy life. Recognizing the eternal perspective is not
only necessary for us to have proper priorities in our life now, but it is also
necessary if we are to learn even to enjoy our life.
Paradoxically
enough, however, as much as we desire to know and understand eternity, with our
actions we show that we are trying to extinguish that desire. We may not realize it, but we battle against
the very thing that will teach us to enjoy life. Our culture battles against the
perspective of eternity.
We believe the lie of materialism and we are sold every imagined type of consumer item so that we are able to wrench as much enjoyment out of this present life while we are still able. Our homes are full of every type of electronic gadget duplicated many times over. Our closets are full of clothes we never wear and our garages full of vehicles we use only a few times per year.
We believe the lie of materialism and we are sold every imagined type of consumer item so that we are able to wrench as much enjoyment out of this present life while we are still able. Our homes are full of every type of electronic gadget duplicated many times over. Our closets are full of clothes we never wear and our garages full of vehicles we use only a few times per year.
What
are we to make of this? Are we then not
to enjoy earthly things? If we are
viewing our lives from an eternal perspective, does that mean that we should
deny ourselves enjoyment here in this life?
Well…no, it does not mean that:
“I
know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in
one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all
his labor-- it is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 NAS).
Viewing
our lives from an eternal perspective means instead that we understand that
there are appropriate times for each thing, and that the time for each will
come. Moreover, when we allow events to
happen in their appropriate time, we will see that each event also becomes beautiful.
We do not have to pack everything into one summer’s vacation. Life does not have to be an itinerary list or a schedule of timetables. Each event and each stage in life, and indeed our work itself, becomes enjoyable because we allow these things each in their appropriate and beautiful times.
We do not have to pack everything into one summer’s vacation. Life does not have to be an itinerary list or a schedule of timetables. Each event and each stage in life, and indeed our work itself, becomes enjoyable because we allow these things each in their appropriate and beautiful times.
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