True Joy

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 9-12, Psalms 10

Lost in all the writer of Ecclesiastes’ talk about vanity and emptiness and chasing the wind is the number of times he encourages the reader to enjoy life. Enjoy the time they have been given. Enjoy the hours and days of blessing. Enjoy the seasons when life is good. Yes, you will experience bad times. Yes, you will experience hardship and adversity. Yes, you cannot place your trust in wisdom, wealth, influence, or a good name. But you can still find joy. Simple pleasures of feasting, friendship, and family. 

“Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun. Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

To be sure, Ecclesiastes encourages a “sober” joy. A joy tempered by the realities of hard work, adversity, judgment, and death. A joy that transcends superficial happiness. A joy that springs from a deep love of life and all the blessings God has given. The profound joy that comes from a life lived before God in this world. The joyful life for Solomon is not all bubbles and rainbows and unicorns. It’s an utterly realistic joy. A joy that acknowledges the harsh truth about our broken world. A joy that walks eyes wide open to pain and suffering. A joy that doesn’t run from trouble. 

I’ve been a pastor for over twenty years. I’ve spent countless hours counseling people from all walks of life. I’ve served congregations on the East Coast, Deep South, Midwest, and, for the last fifteen years, out West in Colorado. A common thread running throughout all those conversations and cultures is the universal desire for happiness. A craving for joy. But far too often it’s a joy without hardship. A happiness without sorrow. An unrealistic expectation that life can be lived...indeed should be lived...without pain and suffering. In the most extreme cases, the person seems to believe God “owes” them such a life. It’s why one of the most frequent questions I have to help people wrestle with is “Why, God?” Why did God let this happen to me? Why didn’t God protect me from this tragedy? Why does God allow suffering? Why does a good God allow evil to exist in the world? Such questions, at their best, reveal the longing we all have for the world to come. The world where God will wipe away every tear, end all injustice, and heal every hurt. At their worst, they reveal a deep misunderstanding of the world around us. A false expectation that this life can be lived without experiencing hardship and pain. Ecclesiastes is clearly confronting the latter attitude. 

So how do you experience the world? When you wake up in the morning, what’s your expectation? Do you walk into life eyes wide open to both the good and the bad? Are you willing to embrace the ups and downs? Do you understand that life will be filled with pleasure and pain? Accomplishment and adversity? Success and failure? And do you seek the deeper joy God offers us in Jesus Christ?

Readings for tomorrow: Song of Solomon 1-4, Psalms 11

Smoke and Mirrors

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 5-8, Psalms 9

The writer of Ecclesiastes is brutally honest about life. All is vanity, he says, over and over again. The original Hebrew of the phrase meaning, “all is smoke, all is vapor, all is hot air.” It doesn’t make life meaningless, it makes it confusing. It makes it contradictory. It lacks any kind of consistency. All of us know deep down this isn’t how it should be. The righteous should be rewarded and the wicked punished. Every single time. There should be no exceptions to this rule. Long life, deep joy, great wealth and honor should be reserved for those who live according to God’s law. Short life, deep bitterness, poverty and shame should be the fate of those who reject God’s law and go their own way. But what happens when the wicked flourish and the righteous perish? What happens when the lawless seem to be happy and the lawful struggle to find joy? What happens when the righteous are poor and powerless and oppressed while the unrighteous are wealthy and honored and accumulate great power and influence? These are the questions the writer of Ecclesiastes is struggling to answer and, if we’re honest, we’re still struggling to answer them to this day.

Taking a step back, I believe the fact that we wrestle with these questions is a clear indicator that God has indeed set eternity in our hearts. The very fact that every single human being no matter their faith or culture or life experience all ask these questions demonstrates there has to be something beyond this life. Something beyond this world. Something beyond that is calling to us. An echo of Eden in all our hearts. A longing for a return to true justice and righteousness and peace in the world. The very fact that we continue to strive for it despite all our failures throughout all of human history is strong evidence to me that there is a God who created us in a particular way and desires to have a relationship with us. Why else would we care? Why else would we fight so hard for things like universal human rights and to end slavery and oppression and provide relief for the poor? Why not survival of the fittest? Why not might makes right? Why not use my wealth and power and privilege to simply accumulate as much as I can throughout my lifetime?

Everything is smoke. Vapor. Hot air. It’s like we’re living in a steam room. Our vision of the world and other people and even ourselves is obscured by the water in the air. Even if we try to understand it, we will fail. If we work as hard as we can to probe the mystery, we simply cannot find clarity. Listen again to how the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it, “There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile…I observed all the work of God and concluded that a person is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a person labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; even if a wise person claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬, ‭17‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

So what’s the answer then? Resignation? Fatalism? Just put our heads down and endure? No. Over and over again, the writer encourages us to embrace contentment. Embrace the gifts we have been given. Enjoy them for as long as we can. Just don’t hold onto them. Don’t assume you will have them forever. Don’t place your trust in them. Instead, fear the Lord. This is the beginning and the end of all wisdom.

Readings for tomorrow: Ecclesiastes 9-12, Psalms 10

Appreciating the Simple Life

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 1-4, Psalms 8

Human beings are such contradictory creatures. We are capable of the most extraordinary things and yet cannot seem to get out of our own way. We have cracked the nut on space travel and the mysteries of the atom and artificial intelligence and yet struggle to create the systems we need to make sure everyone has access to clean water and food security. We are capable of the most amazing acts of love and self-sacrifice and also some of the most horrific atrocities. When we are poor, we are often at our most generous. When we are rich, we are often at our most selfish. When we are humble, we are wise. When we are prideful, we are foolish. And none of this is new. As the writer of Ecclesiastes says so often throughout his book, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Solomon understood human nature. He was not blind to our struggle and toil and hard, back-breaking work. At the same time, he saw our aspirations and hopes and dreams. And he believed it all to be part of God’s divine plan for humanity. God had given a task to humanity. Be fruitful. Multiply. Fill the earth. Exercise dominion over all He had made. But humanity’s calling had become a burden as sin corrupted the original creation mandate. That’s why humanity seems so perpetually frustrated. We struggle to accept our place in God’s world. So what does Solomon propose as an answer? Gratitude. Thanksgiving. Embracing God’s plan for our lives. Trusting God’s work on our behalf. Listen to how he describes it, “What does the worker gain from his struggles? I have seen the task that God has given the children of Adam to keep them occupied. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts. I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him. Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Think about your life. Think about all God has given you. Think about the simple things like your home and your health, the food on your table and the clothes on your back. Think about the gifts and talents and abilities He has given you or the many opportunities you have each day to meet new people and have new experiences or learn new things. Think about the season of life you find yourself in or the step you’re on in your career. All of these things are gifts given for you to enjoy. And yes, I understand God has set eternity in our hearts. A deep longing for something more but don’t let that rob you of your gratitude for the present moment. Don’t let that lead to a perpetual state of discontent where nothing is ever enough. Trust that God has made everything appropriate in its time, even the hard seasons of life. Learn all you can from this moment. Enjoy all you can in this moment. Know that God has brought this moment to pass in your life to draw you closer to Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Ecclesiastes 5-8, Psalms 9

Remember your Creator

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 7-12

Remember your Creator. This is the advice of the Teacher in the final chapter of Ecclesiastes. He recognizes - probably from his own life - our very human tendency to forget God in the midst of life. We forget Him when we are young. We forget Him when the sun is shining and times are good. We forget Him when we are strong and able. We forget Him when we are full of life and energy and without a care in the world. We forget Him when all kinds of opportunities are coming our way. We forget Him when we are at the height of our success and influence and wealth and power. And lest we think we are immune to this temptation, we need to remind ourselves Solomon was all these things and more.

The key is to fear God and obey His commands. But that’s easier said than done as well. Fearing God doesn’t come naturally to us. It must be trained if it is to be ingrained. It comes as a result of time spent every day with our Creator. It requires a weekly gathering with God’s people to reorient the self-centered desires of our hearts. It comes through intentionality as we allow others into our lives and share transparently with them so they can hold us accountable. These are the formational practices Christians have employed for centuries in some form or another in order to “remember their Creator.”

Furthermore, obeying God’s commands takes daily practice. We must meditate on His Word day and night so we know what He expects from us. We must memorize His commands so we can take them to heart. We must hide His Word in our hearts if we are to resist sin and take our stand against the evil one. After all, we cannot obey God’s commands if we do not know them. And we cannot know God’s commands unless we commit ourselves to studying them. So many people claim to know Christ but they have no idea how to follow Him. They claim to love Christ but seemingly have no interest in obeying Him. It must break God’s heart to see His children pursue a way of life apart from Him. Imagine the impact we could have on the world if we would remember God when we are strong and young and energetic and excited? Imagine what would happen if we would give God the firstfruits of our lives rather than the leftovers after we have primarily served ourselves? Imagine how different our lives would be if we gave God the best years of our life? We don’t have to imagine. We simply have to start right where we find ourselves today.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 10-11, 2 Chronicles 9, Proverbs 30-31

Chasing the Wind

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 1-6

Robin Williams. Kate Spade. Anthony Bourdain. These are the famous faces of suicide. I could name several more from my own community who are not as famous. Kids. Young adults. Men and women in their late fifties and early sixties who feel they have nothing left to live for. According to the CDC, suicide rates have increased an astronomical 36% in the last twenty years. And though there was an apparent decrease in 2019-2020, as they process the post-pandemic data, rates are expected to go up once again. It is now the 11th leading cause of death. The factors influencing suicidal ideation are manifold. Mental health problems. Relationship issues. Job loss. Financial pressures. Substance abuse. Post-pandemic stress and anxiety. And it often strikes without warning. Colorado has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation and Douglas County, where I live, struggles significantly with this issue. I remember four teenagers in our area taking their own lives several years ago in the span of just 11 days! Sadly, it’s unfortunately a rare year when our church doesn’t perform the funeral of at least one suicide victim. 

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭1:2‬) The writer of Ecclesiastes (traditionally ascribed to Solomon) clearly takes a dim view of life. Work is vanity. Riches are vanity. Pleasure is vanity. Success is vanity. Wisdom is vanity. All is vanity. What do we gain by working so hard? No one remembers us after we’re gone. Our wealth is passed on to another to enjoy. The righteous and unrighteous both die and are laid in the grave. All end up as dust. Clearly the Teacher is depressed. He looks around at all he has accomplished in his life and abandons all hope. He finds no meaning in anything he has done or accomplished. All he has to show for all his hard work and toil and pursuit of wisdom is sorrow, grief, and pain.  It’s not easy to read. It’s feels like we’re reading the Teacher’s personal journal and hearing his inmost thoughts as he grapples with despair.

One of the things I love most about the Bible is its honesty. It is raw and gut-wrenching at times. It never sugar-coats or glosses over the harsh realities of life. Solomon, in all his wisdom, struggled with depression. Solomon, for all his wealth and power, felt inadequate. Solomon, for all his success and achievement, felt insecure. I imagine everyone can identify with him on some level. No matter how much you achieve. How much you accumulate. How popular you become. It’s never enough. It’s all vanity and a striving after the wind.  

So what’s the answer? We’ll find out when we finish the book tomorrow. After all has been said and done, the Teacher comes to one final, critically important conclusion. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12:13‬) In fact, some suggest we need to read Ecclesiastes back to front instead of front to back. I disagree. I believe it is important for us to follow the Teacher’s example. Grapple with our own darkness and despair. Face our depression and anxiety and fear. Honestly come to grips with our utter hopelessness without Christ. What makes Ecclesiastes so powerful even to this day is the way it speaks to our hearts about idolatry. We have a tendency to place our trust in our own wisdom. Our own strength. Our own accomplishments. Our own wealth. Our own toil and hard work. Our pursuit of pleasure. Ecclesiastes exposes these idols as empty and meaningless which, in turn, points us back to God. 

Readings for tomorrow: Ecclesiastes 7-12