Morning Musings: Ecclesiastes 6:3

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“If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

While Solomon seems to promote a kind of “eat and drink for tomorrow we die,” hedonistic fatalism here, I think there’s something more afoot.  As he has surveyed the world around him, he has noticed that there are many who pursue much, but whether they obtain it or not, when the pursuit becomes their god they can no longer enjoy the fruits of their labors whether larger or small.

Better in this life is to seek to find all the enjoyment we can in the things we have, working hard to see them increase, but not to the point that work becomes the end instead of the means.  The best life will always be found in working hard, delighting fully in what we have (and among the chief ways to do that is to use it for the benefit of others), all with faithfulness to the Lord as our guide.

O God of Vengeance?

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I was reading the other day in Psalm 94 and I came across something that really caught my eye.  In the first verse, the psalmist proclaims this: “O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!”

O God of vengeance?  I can think of a lot of things for which to praise the Lord.  I could praise Him for His goodness, His love, His mercy, His compassion, His justice, His righteousness, His faithfulness, His generosity, His protection, His plans, His gentleness, His care, and I could probably keep going here for a while.  You may want to go get a sandwich and come back.

The point is: There are lots of things for which we could easily offer praise to God.  Vengeance doesn’t usually (or ever) fall on that list.  Why would the psalmist offer praise like this as the start of his poem and why would that particular song get picked up for the collection of sacred songs that were counted as Scripture?   Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Corinthians 7:6-11

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“Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)‬‬

Singleness, marriage, and divorce are tough issues to talk about.  They are emotional ones.  Singleness is a difficult journey in and of itself.   Cultural pressures to be sexually active regardless of marital status combined with pressures from the current culture of the church for everyone to be married and which suggest that singleness is a kind of second-class status make it even more difficult.  Marriage opens us up to a level of intimacy that is often a lot scary and hard to maintain.  Its “til-death-do-us-part” mantra is daunting, especially when you start it young.  And, once again, culture puts all kinds of pressure on us to make it something entirely less sacred and permanent that it was designed to be.   And, because of the intimacy of marriage, divorce is always messy.  If the Scriptures are right in that the married couple becomes one flesh, a divorce for any reason is akin to amputating a part of our body, and not something small like a toe.  It’s more like taking off an entire leg or arm.  In other words, these are big issues.   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

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“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth.  Therefore let your words be few.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Recognizing their absence of faithful works, many people think that faithful words will suffice.  And for a while this seems to be the case.  People hear our words and ascribe us honor because of them.  We boast of great things we would do for God.  This eventually becomes boasting of great things we are doing for God and boasts of great acts of faithfulness.  We promise the moon…but wind up delivering only a reflection.  In the end, we have only handfuls of empty promises that leave God disappointed with us and people disillusioned by us.  It is better to let our actions do the talking.

Morning Musings: Ecclesiastes 4:6

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“Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

We live in a culture in which money is everything.  Being rich is the chief end of man.  For indeed, when you are rich you are freed from the worries and burdens of the world.  You can enjoy the pleasures of life more freely and fully.  You need not fear when storms rise up.  Right???

Not even close, but the illusion here is of the most potent power there is and so we strive and toil and chase after the wind, hoping after a life most of us will never obtain.  And for what?  In the end, we are too tired to enjoy what we do have and we look on it with contempt anyway because it is not more.

This is vanity and futility and ultimately worthless.  Solomon is right.  It is better to have less and enjoy it more, than to have two hands full while yet never being able to enjoy it.  Find contentment in what you have and the life that you are living with Jesus and you will always have enough.  Serve the Lord faithfully in your present circumstances and they will always leave you satisfied.  Receive with gladness what He gives and use it faithfully, but make the getting an aim secondary to the faithfulness.