Jump Start # 3264

Ecclesiastes 2:17 “So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.”

We have fired up our Deeper Bible studies once more. This is something we do with the congregation I’m with. It’s part of our system of groups. Folks sign up and I teach. This class meets twice on Tuesdays, morning and evening. And, this round of studies we are looking at Ecclesiastes. Everyone has their own Ecclesiastes journal in which they can write their own notes in.

Ecclesiastes is a tough book to begin. Lots of question. Tradition tells us that Solomon wrote this, but there are some problems with that. There is no clear and absolute answer. If Solomon did write this, when did this fit in his life. Historically, it sure seems that his life fell apart at the end. Then, there is the flow of Ecclesiastes. Some picture it as a dark, depressing journal of a man who can’t find the answer to “What’s the point?” Others, make it very hopeful and encouraging. That horizontal view, “life under the sun” sure has a lot to do with understanding this book.

Throughout Ecclesiastes, observations are made. Statements such as, “I saw” are repeated often. And, from observations, perspectives and conclusions are made. Thus our verse today. What a sad statement, “I hated life.” Sounds like a teenager who just got grounded, not the son of David who was blessed with wisdom. Yet, our verse must be balanced by the number of times Solomon says, “enjoy life.”

And, those thoughts help us to think about perspective. The right lens you look at life through makes all the difference.

First, some only see life through their own eyeballs. Everything is based upon what it means to me. Me becomes the focal point. My happiness. My value. What do I get out of it. There are some who even look at worship this way. “I don’t get anything out of church,” is a statement made from a selfish perspective. “I don’t like that hymn,” or, “I don’t like the way that guy leads a prayer.” Everything is wrapped around self.

Second, our perspectives can change. That’s a good thing, a very good thing. We don’t come into this world with a heavenly perspective. As newborns, we are only interested in food and clean diapers. That’s it. That’s our world. We cry without any consideration as to where we are or what time of day it is or how tired our parents are. But as we grow, that changes. It especially changes when one comes to Christ. The golden rule, seeking the kingdom first, having the mind of Christ, changes our thinking. Instead of seeing things only through our eyeballs, we see things from God’s point of view. A cup of cold water, insignificant as it is, is meaningful to Heaven. Consequences matter. What and how we say things matter. Even our value system and definitions change when we come to Christ. Success defined by the world is based upon the brands you wear, the type of car you drive, the square footage of your house, what neighborhood that house is in, what school you attended and how much wealth you have. In Christ, character, integrity, having a heart of a servant is what catches the eye of the Lord. It doesn’t matter where you live. It’s not what you have, but what has you.

Third, as our perspectives change towards Heaven, we notice that things that we were once obsessed with, no longer moves the needle in our hearts. I saw a young guy zipping through a parking lot the other day with a bright yellow sports car. There was a time in my life I would have thought, “How can he afford that, and I can’t?” Not anymore. My first thought was, “I wonder how much he’s paying for insurance?” Then, “he sure can’t put much in that car.” Perspective changes. I’m pretty certain that I am going to exit this planet without ever owning a bright yellow sports car. Do I feel cheated? Do I feel empty? Not at all. We have a brother in our church who collects money to help Christians in Africa. I’d much rather do that than have a yellow car. The heavenly perspective changes us. I’d much rather sit in an assembly of Christians and sing hymns for an hour than sit in a theatre watching a movie that last no lasting value.

When one stays with Ecclesiastes, he realizes that Solomon wasn’t in the dumps. He wasn’t suicidal. He didn’t even hate life, as our passage states. Life under the sun doesn’t offer much. There is little to hope for when one has a horizontal view of life. You work all your life and then you die. Your dog at home has it better than you do. You feed him. You take care of him. All he does is wag his tail and sleep most of the day. In the end, both you and the dog die. You have killed yourself with stress and hard work only to leave all of this stuff to someone else. That’s horizontal living. That’s life under the sun. But with a vertical view, life ABOVE the sun, things change. We work so we can glorify God. We are blessed so we can bless others. There is a purpose other than sleeping and eating. Under the sun, we miss that. Under the sun we can’t see that. But it’s ABOVE the sun that we get that right perspective.

I’ve known brethren who have worshipped God for six to seven decades of their lives. Can you imagine how many hymns they sung? How many times have they taken the Lord’s Supper? How many sermons have they listened to? And, what did it do for them? It gave them hope, assurance, forgiveness and that Heavenly perspective. They faced death, not with fear, but with hope. They walked with the Lord. They loved the Lord and He loved them.

Life under the sun stinks. But life above the sun is glorious and brilliant. It’s all about perspective.

Roger

Jump Start # 2424

Ecclesiastes 2:17 “So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after the wind.”

When we study our Bibles and we read the lives of so many characters it is easy to really like some. I like Barnabas. I’d love to spend a day with him. Peter reminds me too much of myself, but I can connect. Solomon, who wrote our verse today, is not one I have ever liked. He seems like a spoiled rich boy. Living in a palace, the son of a king, having servants all around him, I doubt he ever did much work. And, here he is in our verse complaining about work. It was grievous to me, he says. I hate life, he says. Really? Try trading places with the poor guy who is building walls and paving roads and constructing houses for you. He’ll never live like you do Solomon. Get a little dirt under those finger nails. Step outside in the sunshine and help a guy carry a load of bricks.

In the first half of Ecclesiastes, chapters 1-6, Solomon refers to himself sixty times. Sixty! The word “vanity” is found in every chapter of Ecclesiastes except one. “Chasing after the wind” is used fourteen times. And, the expression, “life under the sun,” that’s used 29 times. He complains. He whines. He’s not happy, although he has everything that money can buy.

Solomon’s problem, as is with so many today, was not where he was, but his perspective. Every year prodigals want to leave home for the bright lights of the far country. Get out and find myself. No rules. No one telling me what to do. Off they go, and without any direction, guidance or God in their hearts, they make a real mess of things. Solomon’s problem was that he was looking at everything under the sun. Life under the sun wasn’t fair, fulfilling, nor lasting. Everyone dies. What’s the difference between man and beast, they both die. What’s the difference between a good man and a wicked man, they both die. Solomon had a vision problem. He was looking at everything under the sun. Horizontal living can be depressing. We kill ourselves working and working, so we can retire someday, and eventually end up in assisted living hoping that our money doesn’t run out. Boy, that sounds exciting doesn’t it? Sitting in a wheelchair, eating applesauce, watching 24 hour news over and over, day after day, until we finally leave this world, is not a picture that many want to talk about. This is about as good as it gets when you look at things horizontally. What is there to look forward to? Knee replacements, pacemakers, false teeth, walkers, hearing aids, and mountains of pills to take every day—that’s how the picture ends when one looks at life under the sun. Horizontal living doesn’t have very many happy moments.

If this is what life is under the sun, then what is it like “above the sun?” What does vertical living look like? How does that picture change when one walks with Christ? Certainly a person will age. The body will wear out and fall apart. That happens whether one is a Christian or not. Paul admitted that the outer man decays. The outside doesn’t get better with age. But what vertical living does is change the inside. Our inner man, our heart, our attitude, our faith, gets better, stronger and richer the more we look above the sun.

Here is a few reasons why:

First, with trials, God gives us a compass. The world has no explanation for suffering. Some use it to deny the existence of God. The Christian knows. This world is broken. It can’t be fixed. The compass points us towards Heaven. Jesus suffered. He suffered without complaining. I can do the same. Jesus endured. I can do the same. Jesus looked beyond the suffering. I can do the same.

Second, with guilt, God gives us forgiveness. His grace is amazing. He gives us a rest from the burdens we carry. He offers us a better way and a new way. He doesn’t give up on us. Even though we may be broken, He can fix us and use us. He believes in us and puts into our hands His word and His kingdom.

Third, with death, God gives us hope. Death isn’t the end of the story. Death isn’t the final word in our book. Jesus was raised and so shall we. For the righteous, death is a blessing. It is a gain. It is a victory. It is nothing more than passing through a door into another room. It is leaving the horizontal world. Death is the passage that takes us to where we want to be. The Christian welcomes death. He knows he will be so much better once he passes through that doorway.

Horizontal living is obsessed with labels, size of TV screens, who kissed who in Hollywood, and things that will not matter in a dozen years, let alone in eternity. Horizontal living is about climbing your way to the top. It’s about looking good for others. It’s about here and now. It’s about whatever makes one happy. And, using Solomon’s own words, horizontal living is vain, empty and useless. It is chasing after the wind.

That phrase, ‘chasing after the wind,’ is ridiculous. First, no one can see the wind. You may see leaves or trash blowing across a parking lot. That’s the result of wind, but it’s not actually seeing the wind. Second, you can’t catch the wind. You can’t hold it in your hands. You can’t stop it. You can’t put it in a jar. And, this is the point of that expression. It is useless. It is worthless. It is a waste of time.

All around us are horizontal people. Listen to their conversations. Look at what impresses them. We must be vertical people. We must be glorifying God more. We must be more thankful. We must be kind, helpful, generous and thoughtful. Horizontal thinking is concerned about right and left. Vertical thinking is about up and down.

I hate my life, Solomon said. I just want to tell him, go do something for someone. Go help someone. Get busy and quit whining about your life. Get a life!

Horizontal or vertical…which way are you going?

Roger