Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

Did you realise that we're living in a world that has got it all upside-down?


Solomon notices that wisdom is better than strength and yet people celebrate the strong and forget the wise. People have got it upside-down.

The tragedy of the city Solomon observes is not an isolated one. We see this kind of thing repeating itself everywhere. The right things are not the popular things. The things that do us and others good are the last things we feel like doing - and they're the hardest things to do. We see this playing out in those around us and in our own lives too.

Solomon sees it in the city and spots how crazy it is that people don't remember wisdom but we know that Solomon himself forgot wisdom too as he married into other false religions and got himself compromised. So he sees the problem all too clearly but he's not exempt from it himself.

When we see others getting it wrong and upside-down, are we quick to judge or do we stay humble because we realise that we're pretty upside-down a lot of the time ourselves?

It's the root problem again - SIN.

It's not about slagging off a one-off city that's got it wrong. It's about recognising the sickness we all suffer from that makes us get things upside-down.

'Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Christ Jesus our Lord!' (Romans 7:24-25).

And Jesus is our only hope. And he's our world's only hope. Without him to show us the right way up, we're stuck in this hole without forgiveness.

O God, I need to feel that I have forgiveness from you. So often my good intentions do not become what I want them to be, and so often the good I want to do, I don’t do. It is hard to face up to the wrong that is in my life. When I feel your forgiveness, I feel clean and good inside and so free to be what you want me to be. Help me feel this goodness, and strengthen me to forgive those who have wronged me. I pray in the name of Christ who shows us the way to your forgiving presence. Amen.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Solomon's been saying in the last chapter about how unfair it is how bad things happen to good people and sometimes good things happen to bad people but now with a more general perspective, he says actually everyone gets the same...

Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

We're back to the 'mixed bag' idea from earlier chapters. Sure, sometimes good happens to people who don't deserve it and bad things happen to relatively good people but we all get the same mixed bag. What does he mean? Well, we all get life (a mixed bag of good and bad) and we all die. Everyone's in the same boat. They can't see what tomorrow will bring (v1), they're all evil and selfish next to God (v3). And in the end we all die. This is what Solomon means when he says, 'the same destiny overtakes them all' (v3).

I can just imagine Solomon's melancholic tone of voice as he drones on about this. It even makes me laugh when I get to verses 7-10 and his uninspiring conclusion. It's like he's saying, 'Oh well, you're all gonna die anyway so you may as well enjoy life while you have the chance. Go on then, you may as well get married, have kids, have your fun because you know it won't last. Go on and enjoy your meaningless life until you die!'

But is it melancholy or sarcasm?! I wonder if Solomon is deliberately labouring the point here in order to make his shallow readers realise how futile and blinded their lives really are. They're so busy amassing wealth and going along with the crowd, building careers and having families etc, etc but totally missing the point of life at the same time. Maybe Solomon's sarcasm is enough to wake us up to reality. 'Is that really what life is about?' 'Is that really the sum total of what I'm doing?' I think Solomon wants us to think - 'There must be more than this!'

It's not about the swift or the strong, or the rich, or the powerful. It's not about the popular, or the charismatic, or the talented, or the famous. Why not? Because all these will still get the mixed bag of joy, suffering, pain, happiness, sorrow, regret, loneliness, fun, pride, etc, that we all get and in the end they'll all face death too. And if it's not about these things, then what is it about? There must be more! There just has to be! And Solomon wants us to see it!

Today, why not use these words by Tim Hughes as a prayer?...

There must be more than this
O breath of God, come breathe within
There must be more than this
Spirit of God we wait for You
Fill us anew we pray
Fill us anew we pray

Consuming fire
Fan into flame
A passion for Your name
Spirit of God
Fall in this place
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way
With us

Come like a rushing wind
Clothe us with power from on high
Now set the captives free
Leave us abandoned to Your praise
Lord let Your glory fall
Lord let Your glory fall

Consuming fire
Fan into flame
A passion for Your name
Spirit of God
Fall in this place
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way
With us

Ecclesiastes 8:9-17

Every one of us knows what it's like to say, 'It's not fair!' We're all born with a strong sense of injustice. You don't need to teach kids how to complain when they see others getting sweets and they don't have any! We hate it when bad things happen to good people and when good things happen to bad people. Isn't God supposed to be a god of justice? What's up with that?


Sometimes we just don't understand what God is doing. Good people so often get a raw deal in life and the truly evil people sometimes seem to get away with it. What's God playing at?

Solomon has been thinking about God as ultimate authority and judge and when he turns to observe people's lives, he sees a lot that's not what it should be. People exploit others and hurt them for their own gain (v9). People with secret sins receive praise from others (v10). And they seem to get away with it but then he also remembers that everyone dies (v10). Death is the ultimate leveller. People might well get away with things in this life but only for this life! Their lives will end. Solomon wants us to keep the eternal big picture in view. This will help us understand a little more about what God is doing.

Solomon sees...
- Slow justice (v11)
- Long life for the wicked (v12)
- The good get punished (v14)
- The wicked get good things (v14)

What do we do with this? Some would complain about the above and conclude that there can't be a 'God' at all because he would surely sort things out. But where do we think we get our strong sense of injustice from in the first place? We didn't learn it! Solomon's conclusion when he sees these things is to assume that God is doing something he doesn't understand. He assumes that God will always be doing things we don't understand and I think he's got a point! It's hard to imagine following a god we understand completely all the time. That would be no god at all.

The world seems to be a little bit like a playground at break time in a school. 'Playtime' doesn't last forever. In a playground there's lots of fun but also there will inevitably be bullying, people will fall over and hurt themselves and sometimes there'll be tears. People have freedom to do what they want with their 'playtime'. Sometimes the mealtime assistants will be able to step in and prevent someone from getting hurt but they won't stop everything. And in the end the bell rings and it's time for lessons. 'Playtime' is over and everyone has to start learning! Of course, the students that get the best out of school are the ones that never stop learning, even when it's playtime. The lessons they learn in the playground will help them when the bell goes.

God is ultimate judge. People do seem to get away with things and sometimes it feels like the good people get an unfair deal but we need to remember two things: Firstly, we're all evil when measured against God's perfect holiness and it's a wonder that we are allowed any 'playtime' at all! Secondly, God will ring the bell on our 'playtime' and everyone will face God's justice in the end. We should thank God for his mercy and forgiveness and ask him to help us to assume he's always doing things we don't understand because he's a massive God who loves us more than we can take in.

Ecclesiastes 8:1-8

Have you ever had a problem with a decision that someone in authority over you has made? I have! It can be infuriating when someone with more power/responsibility than you decides something that you don't like and you're powerless to change it. It could be your parents or your boss, your teacher or a rule, or even the laws we have to follow in our country, or something the government has decided. In Solomon's time, the main earthly authority was the king - and that was him!


So what does Solomon have to say about authority?

Obey it (v2)... Solomon is clear about this. God expects us to follow and obey the people who have authority over us (unless they are expecting us to sin against him). Sometimes it's not that simple because we might be asked to do something that seems wrong when there's a possibility it could be ok under circumstances we're not aware of. Sometimes we need to know that the authority might know better than us at the time and the best thing to do is trust them but even if we can't, we needn't worry because God is still the ultimate authority in charge.

Work with it (v3)... Don't fear those in authority over you. They're just people like you and me. That's why Solomon doesn't want people to rush away from him. Why should they? He's only trying to do the right thing for people before God and to be the wisest king he can be. And even if he wasn't, they needn't worry because God is still the ultimate authority in charge.

Respect it (v4)... It's usually possible to question authority to try and understand something better or to resolve something we disagree about but even when it isn't, we are expected to respect authority anyway. And if we can ask questions, let's do so respectfully and with appreciation of the fact that we don't have the same perspective as those in authority over us. We don't need to worry because God is still the ultimate authority in charge.

I think the main message Solomon wants us to realise is that God really is in charge over any of the authorities we experience even when they get it wrong, or have wrong motives, or if they don't give us opportunity to ask questions. God still orders events and makes decisions about what to allow. He is the one who has ultimate power and controls the things we can't (like the wind and the future).

It's not always easy to deal with authority but it is always possible to be right with God and have peace because he is the ultimate parent/boss/teacher/rule/law/country/government. Ask God to help you to respond well to authority and also to help you if you have authority over others.

Ecclesiastes 7:19-29

There are many things that compete for our attention and not all of them are good. In fact some of them will do us a great deal of harm if we let them. The trouble is, those things don't always seem like bad things at all at first. We think of them as normal and harmless... and then we get sucked in! Today Solomon shows us what can happen when we focus our attention on the wrong things at the wrong time or in the wrong way...


'Do not pay attention to every word people say' (v21). Wisdom will help us to be discerning when we hear things from others. Some things we would do well to remember and act on whilst other things we should quickly ignore or forget. The example Solomon gives is of gossip. People talking (usually in a negative way) about others behind their back. It can seem harmless but it's one of those things like quicksand that will suck us in and then the damage starts to appear later when someone is slandered falsely or really hurt. We need to ignore gossip. Let's not give it any airtime.

Solomon has turned his attention to wisdom and understanding and in this section this leads him to speak of another thing that attracts his attention - women! We know that Solomon had many wives and his relationships with them were perhaps his biggest downfall. They led him to worship others gods. It's not surprising that he says women can be like a snare or a trap (v26) or that he says he could not find any upright women. Solomon's attention was quickly attracted to women and for him, this was another thing like quicksand. It's not that women are more evil than men - It's the fact that Solomon found women to be more dangerous for him than men and he probably knew that he's not the only guy who faces this issue. For all of us, we should consider what airtime we give to the opposite sex, particularly when we're attracted. Are we getting stuck in something wrong and harmful, or is it a healthy relationship that will please God?

You would expect that by now, Solomon has found out many different and useful things by examining them closely but at the end of this chapter he summarises everything he's seen by saying he's found just one thing - 'God created humankind, but they have gone in search of many schemes' (v29). It's telling that this is how he summarises everything he's observed.

So what gets your attention? What do you give airtime to? Let's ask God to help us avoid our tendency to be 'in search of many schemes' and to focus our attention on the things he is leading us into instead.

A prayer - Father please help me to know when to switch off from something and tune into something else instead. Help me to avoid gossip and lust. Give me the strength to focus my attention on good things that are worthy of my time. Amen!

Ecclesiastes 7:13-18

Having been considering wisdom, what it is and what it looks like in practice - Solomon now turns to consider God.

Ecclesiastes 7:13-18

People ask me how I'm doing or about what my week's been like and often my response goes something like - 'It's been a mixed bag.' Actually these days I don't say it as much because it started getting on people's nerves and became a bit of a joke. I meant it though. Life always is a mixed bag of good and bad. Even every day has good things going on and at the same time people (including us) are making mistakes and suffering in some way too.

As Solomon considers God, he notices that God has ordered events and allows bad things to happen to good people. This makes us want to ask all sorts of questions but one thing we can be sure of is that we are powerless to make our lives completely good. Sure, we can make headway on certain things and we can drop bad habits and learn good ones. We can become more like Jesus, by the help of the Holy Spirit and that's awesome. But while we're in this world, our lives will always be a 'mixed bag.'

Bearing this in mind, Solomon's advice is to enjoy the good times and to humbly consider God also in the bad times (v14). We don't know what will happen next. We can't change the 'mixed bag-ness' of life by trying to be really good or really bad (v15). The unpredictable mixture will still be there even if we gain much wisdom (v16) or if we throw away wisdom and go nuts (v16). Solomon knows we can't change the fact that life will deal us good and bad things whilst we're in this fallen world. God is still here but sin is here too. We won't change things by going for extremes. Our best way forward is to love God and get a sense of balance in this life (v18).

Solomon's not saying that we shouldn't try to change things for the good. Of course we should and God will help us to make real and miraculous changes. The point is that we shouldn't expect this to set everything right and make this world perfect again. Sin is still here and we will have this mixed bag of good and bad as long as we continue to live in this world until Jesus returns.

By considering God's authority over everything we experience, we stop striving to make everything right and we have to realise that we need to trust him. The following prayer really finds the same perspective that Solomon is talking about...

The Serenity Prayer (by Reinhold Neibuhr)
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Ecclesiastes 7:6-12

Solomon continues with a series of sayings full of wisdom and about wisdom itself...

Ecclesiastes 7:6-12

As Solomon lists off his thoughts about what wisdom looks like, we are left with a bunch of stuff to avoid and also some things to aim for...

Avoid...
  • The laughter of idiots/laughing like an idiot. It's annoying, pointless and meaningless. (v6)
  • Bribery and using money to manipulate people or exploit them. It's evil. (v7)
  • Starting something you can't or won't finish. It's a waste. (v8)
  • Arrogant pride in yourself. It stops you growing. (v8)
  • Quick angry reactions. They do damage. (v9)
  • Talking about the 'good old days' and complaining about today. It's depressing. (v10)
Aim for...
  • Laughing with real joy and fun that pleases God. It's a gift of grace. (v6)
  • Using money to put people first. It's a useful but temporary tool. (v7)
  • Completion of projects once you've started them. It's satisfying. (v8)
  • Patience. It helps you grow continually. (v8)
  • Slow and steady anger that is controlled, effective and Godly. It helps! (v9)
  • Talking about how today can be great and maybe tomorrow too. It's encouraging. (v10)
Solomon's talking about the difference between having wisdom and not having it. Solomon uses the word 'fool' but we might say 'idiot' or 'stupid' but let's be careful that we remember we're talking here about insight, not intellect. Whatever you want to call it, we're referring to the difference between having and using Godly wisdom and not having it or not using it.

Solomon's described something of what it looks like to put wisdom into practice. He says wisdom helps us and does us good while we're alive. He says it's like a gift that is left for us to benefit us like an inheritance (v11). It protects like money does but it also preserves life, whereas money can't do this (v12).

It's interesting that money features so much when Solomon talks about wisdom. Money is used to describe what wisdom is like (v11-12) and yet it's also the classic example Solomon returns to when he thinks about what distracts people from wisdom (v7). Solomon knows where we're weak and where we're prone to get our priorities mixed up. He also knows how to talk our language and help us understand. This is why he talks about money and possessions so much. Let's take this to heart. Maybe the best thing about money is that it can help us remember that wisdom is far more valuable!

Take another look at the lists above. Solomon hasn't said much but there's a lot to think about here. Maybe there's one thing that jumps out because you know you need to talk to God about it now. Take some time to do that before you log off!

Ecclesiastes 7:1-5

Today I met someone facing a tough choice. It was a student who had fallen out with another girl in school. It happens all the time. Students regularly fall out and get angry about things. It's normal. My role in school is often to help each student think about the choices they have through and after the arguments/fighting. The choices they make are really important and when they're angry with something someone else has done, they face the same though choice that we all do when this happens...

'Do I...
a) ...go face the person and try to resolve it calmly?'
b) ...avoid them and try not to think about it?
c) ...let the whole thing slide and pretend it never happened?'
d) ...do something that will ultimately make matters worse?'

We all face tough choices. We face them because of tough things in our lives that we can't run away from. Today Solomon talks about facing tough realities...


Solomon says that true wisdom is what's best for us in life and true wisdom means facing up to tough realities. He mentions frustration but mainly the ultimate tough reality: death.

Wisdom means facing up to the tough realities and choices. It means dealing with that person we're angry with, or forgiving them, or making time for someone to resolve a problem or to hear them out when we disagree with them. Wisdom means making the tough choice because we know that if we try and take the easy road, it will ultimately be more difficult and worse.

This applies in everyday situations of frustration like we've already mentioned but it also applies to the ultimate tough reality: death. Wisdom faces up to the fact that we're all going to die. Wisdom acknowledges death and prepares for it even though it would be easier to pretend it's all fine and doesn't matter. It does matter and it's tough.

If we think we'll be happier avoiding the tough issues, Solomon reminds us how wrong we are. I don't think Solomon wants us to be miserable though. He doesn't say we should face the tough issues so that we can be down on ourselves. Quite the opposite. Experience has taught him that real joy comes from facing those tough issues with God's help and moving on through them, rather than trying to run away or pretend they're not real. That's why he says 'a sad face is good for the heart' (v3). Real joy includes times of sadness and struggle. It's what real life is about and without them, we're not really living at all.

As you reflect on these words today, think about the tough situations you're facing at the moment. They might be small or they might be huge. You might want to think about the ultimate tough reality - death. Whatever it is, ask God to help you to face the tough reality and with his miraculous help, to step into it with confidence as he leads you to do the right thing, even if it's really tough. It might even mean taking the tough advice when you'd rather listen to the easy options your friends are telling you about (v5). Choose wisdom!

Ecclesiastes 6

For ages I've been hearing people talk about the TV show - Lost, but never watched it until this week. I've been off sick and had plenty of time to get into it.

If you've seen it, you'll know that it's the story of a bunch of people who survive a plane crash on a desert island. As time passes, they begin to give up hope of being seen and rescued and so they make preparations to live on the island for the foreseeable future. They face many struggles and it's a desperate time. Everyone's mind is focussed on survival. Everyone except for one guy, that is - Hurley.

Ecclesiastes 6

Hurley is fed up of thinking only of survival. He wants to have some fun. He realises they're going to be on the island for a long time and he sees how stressed out everyone is. Then he sees something in one of the luggage cases that excites him and he gets to work... Later, he invites some of the others to come and see what he's done and when they follow him out of the thick forest and out on to a beautiful grassy hill, they see it - a golf course!



In the midst of a bleak situation, Hurley had seen the need to be able to enjoy something in it. 'Fun' was almost a dirty word. How can you think about having fun when people are struggling to survive? Isn't it selfish? But Hurley's line was, 'We need to have some fun rather than just waiting for the next thing to go wrong.'

What has this got to do with Ecclesiastes then? Well I think it's very relevant. Here are a bunch of people in an obviously difficult and horrible situation (the way Solomon is describing life in general). People are making decisions about what do to. Some are selfish, others are lazy, some are helpful, others independent. Everyone is struggling on in their own way but they have one thing in common - It's a struggle!

But Hurley becomes the exception because he realises something that Solomon had realised - That in the midst of hopelessness, we must be able to enjoy what we have! There is value in enjoying the best of what we have in the moment. Being thankful for it and having fun. Most people don't bother because they're too fixated on earning more or surviving and Solomon calls this 'a grievous evil' (v2). We need to learn from God that we should enjoy what he has given us now. It won't last forever and we can't take it with us when we die. While we're stuck on this desert island, we need to learn to start playing some golf!

For who knows what is good for people in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone? (v12)

Ecclesiastes 5:8-20

On a scale of 1 to 10...

How content are you with your life?
How much do you enjoy your life?

Ecclesiastes 5:8-20

Contentment is the main idea that comes to my mind when I read this passage.

We see the lack of contentment (particularly with material wealth and possessions) and where it leads. When people who have any kind of power over others aren't content, it inevitably leads to poverty and oppression. Solomon says we shouldn't be surprised to see poverty and struggle in our world when we know that most of us are never happy with what we have. 'Those who love money, never have money enough' (v10).

Solomon also shows us something the poor have above the rich though. They have sleep (v12)! Since they aren't in a position to acquire wealth and endlessly desire and strive for more, they are free from that stressful cycle. They still have huge problems to deal with but at least they can have a peaceful night's sleep rather than stay up worried about gaining everything (v13) or losing everything (v14).

Solomon gives us a couple of big clues as to how we can find real contentment:

1. Find satisfaction in our work (v18)...
Even though the work is 'toilsome', Solomon assures us it is possible to find satisfaction in it. How can we do this? I think it's about the other big clue...

2. Thank God for his gifts (v19)...
If make sure we're grateful for all the good gifts God has given us, this will help us to find great satisfaction in our work and in every place we live.

So how content are you with your life? Reflect on what you have to thank God for today!

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Solomon has shown us that we chase after so many things - money, power, advancement, new leaders, possessions, etc - and none of then satisfy because none of them can change eternity. So what happens when we take these things to God? What would God say to us about these things that Solomon says are like 'chasing after the wind'?

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

"Shhh!" I think that's what God would say. "Just shhh."

I remember seeing a cartoon in a business magazine that was trying to teach a lesson about levels of authority. In the cartoon, this guy from the ground floor has gone all the way up into the Executive Director's office to ask if he can borrow a pencil sharpener! Ok, so it's not the funniest of cartoons (!), but the point is useful for us as we consider today's passage...

God is like the ultimate Executive Director and we are way down on the shop floor. When we knock on his door to speak to him, do we really want to waste time asking about a pencil sharpener and other small things? Don't get me wrong, God cares about every little aspect of our lives and I believe he cares about the things we care about but sometimes he wants to say, "Shhh! - Don't you want to ask me about bigger things than these?" Or even, "Shhh! - Don't you think it's better to be still now and enjoy that we're together?"

Today, before you go right into your shopping list of a prayer to God - Stop and take a deep breath and wait. Wait in the silence and remember who it is that is listening to your prayer. What will you say to the most high and awesome God, who loves you more than you can imagine?

Word on the Web

Word on the Web is a great website where you can subscribe for free daily readings sent right to your inbox. I had the privilege of contributing recently and this week's readings are from me on Philippians. Check it out.

Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

People often get excited by the prospect of a new leader. When Tony Blair came into power, his line was - 'Things can only get better' but the same line was used against him as he moved on and Gordon Brown took over. Take a look at this short clip...

Blair vid

Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

Solomon says wisdom is much better than money, youth or age but when people are fed up with the leadership (as they often are), it's the often the new young and wise leader that they want instead. Solomon says this is meaningless because history shows that people quickly get just as fed up with the new leader as they were with the old one. They get their hopes up for nothing because they get excited about another person who ultimately will disappoint them. The point of life is not about finding the next best leader.

Solomon is in the middle of listing a whole bunch of stuff that seems meaningless. The endless cycle of leaders rising to power and then falling again is just another example of something people put their hopes in that won't change anything in eternity. It's like chasing the wind.

Maybe we should leave it there but I wonder if there's a mini-application as we look at these verses in isolation (always risky!). I wonder if there's something here about the way we view our own leaders and those in authority over us at work or anywhere else. One danger is that we fall into the trap of popular opinion and constantly complain about our leaders or get excited by the prospect of new people coming in. In other words - we put too much value in something that won't change eternity. Another danger is that we do the opposite and get apathetic about our leaders and just let them get on with it whilst we take no interest whatsoever. In other words - we ignore something that makes a difference now. I know this is the danger I'm more prone to.

Maybe what we ought to be doing is taking an active interest in our leaders without getting swept along by what most people are saying. Maybe we should look for wisdom in our leaders and support them. How often do we pray for wisdom for our line managers, our bosses, our parents, our government? Maybe we should do it more.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-12

I work in a Secondary School as Pastoral Support Worker for Years 10 & 11 and on the front of the leaflet we wrote for students it says: 'Pastoral Support - Someone to talk to, Someone to trust in, Someone to rely on'. We all need this and in today's section, Solomon sees how important it is that people have others they can go through life with...


I get the impression that God is really helping Solomon to identify with the people he is observing and to have compassion for them. Solomon's sadness is clear when twice he says about the victims of oppression - 'And they have no comforter' (v1). This isn't a cold-hearted objective experiment that Solomon is undertaking. He really seems to care deeply about the people he is studying. Every person he observes seems to make him feel more desperate about life and the futility of it.

There's two things to notice about the pain Solomon is talking about. Firstly, the pain he saw must have been extreme because he concludes that it is better not to be born at all (v3), but secondly, it also must have been common to all because he says the dead are better off than 'the living' (v2). In other words, it isn't just some people that are worse off - Everyone's worse off. Why? Because the living are those who have seen sin (v3). Every one of us (who are among 'the living'!) can see how sinful our world is, how sinful we ourselves are and how much suffering there is as a result.

Solomon considers greed and envy as examples of this sin at work in our lives and our world. People behave as if wealth actually counts for something eternal (and we've seen that it doesn't) whilst ignoring (or even contributing to) the plight of the poor and the weak. People seem too often to care about possessions more than people and Solomon says - 'This is a miserable business!' (v8).

The lesson Solomon draws from all this is that we all need each other. We need to see how valuable people are and that we each need other to help and supports us. And we need to help and support others in return.

Who do you have when you need someone to talk to, trust in and rely on? I feel very fortunate that I'm spoilt for choice when I need people like this. I know I have a network of support that I can just reach out and grab someone and they'll try and help as much as they can. I'm also aware that there are those who know they can reach out to me to ask for help too and they frequently do!

As you reflect on these words today, consider how you would answer these questions...
1. Who do you have that you can talk to, trust in and rely on?
2. Who talks to you, trusts you and relies on you?
3. Considering your answers to 1 and 2, what, if anything needs to change?

The pictures Solomon uses to describe what it's like when people aren't alone are really powerful. Read verses 9-12 again and ask God to make these images a reality in your own life increasingly.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-22

Steve Curtis Chapman sings a song called 'More to this Life' and in the chorus it says:

But there's more to this life than living and dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see,
And there's more than this life alone can be


There's several key phrases that should leap out at us from today's passage I think. They're about God's relationship with his world - that's us! Everything's at stake if we miss out on the truth here...

'I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race' (v10). What burden? I'm sure you and I could think of many stories of real suffering that you've seen, heard of or experienced yourself - Of real burdens that people bear. Solomon sums all this up (risky!) by saying that the ultimate burden is that God has placed us in 'time' but also put 'eternity in our hearts' (v11). This means that we know that there must be something better. There must be something wrong with this present world in which we live. More than that - There must be something wrong with you and with me because we know deep down that it should be better than this! We should be better than this! We're not just random creatures - We were made for something better - for something eternal! The problem is, no-one can figure out what it is because we're trapped in temporary time at the moment and as Solomon rightly points out, 'No-one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end' (v11). Only God can show us the truth about eternity.

'God will call the past to account' (v15). This should be a sobering thought. There will be a day when each of us will be answerable to God for our lives. Time is temporary. That means it won't go on forever! And what then? Solomon says God will hold us accountable for the time we've had. Crikey!

'In the place of judgement - wickedness... In the place of justice - wickedness' (v16). Why crikey? This is why! Solomon observes what we've all seen if we're honest. We know that people do what they shouldn't and they don't do what they know they should. And we know we're the same. And the real worry (if we realise what Solomon has) is if God is going to call the past to account, what's he going to say and do about your wickedness and mine? Yikes!

'Who can bring them to see what will happen after them?' (v22). So most people end up doing what Solomon describes in verses 18-21 - They say 'Who can know if we're any different from the animals? We'll probably just rot in the ground and that'll be the end of it'. The problem with this is that we all still have this burden where we hate suffering in this life. Why do we hate it so much unless there were something more? Why do we think we know any better? If there's no God and we're all random products of the evolutionary process, why do we care so much when supposedly random events of suffering hit us? The reason we care, the reason we hate suffering so much is because we have this burden - a sense of something more. God has placed eternity in our hearts!

The question Solomon ends on does have an answer - God! God knows what will happen. There's a reason he's set eternity in our hearts. It's because he wants us to cry out to him for forgiveness and help. He wants us to be in a trusting and dependent relationship with him. It won't always be like this, but while it is - let's pray! Let's talk to God. Let's trust him and cry out to him and let's long for the God who has set eternity in our hearts. He's given himself to us so that we should give ourselves to him.

A prayer - Thank you, Lord that...
...there's more to this life than living and dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see,
And there's more than this life alone can be

Amen!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

So far Solomon's been saying that everything under the sun seems meaningless like chasing the wind. You might expect to find that he hates life and is apathetic but now he stops and observes that all the various activities under heaven have their place. They are good and right if done at the proper times.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Each of the phrases we read here are huge in their meaning and implication and we read them all too quickly. Let's reflect briefly on some of the things Solomon is referring to in our lives...

It might be interesting to look at the various activities in 2 groups. Some of the activities would normally be seen as positive and others as negative but Solomon says there is a good and right time for them all. Some of them are only necessary because of sin in our world but they are needed in order to reduce or stop the harm it can have. Some are difficult to deal with and hard to understand why they have to happen. Still others are exciting and fun.

Consider what part these things have to play in your own life at the moment...

"Positive"
- Birth and planting (v2)
- Healing and building (v3)
- Laughing and dancing (v4)
- Gathering and embracing (v5)
- Searching and keeping (v6)
- Mending and speaking (v7)
- Loving and peace (v8)

"Negative"
- Death and uprooting (v2)
- Killing and tearing down (v3)
- Weeping and mourning (v4)
- Scattering and refraining (v5)
- Giving up and throwing away (v6)
- Tearing and being silent (v7)
- Hating and war (v8)

What is it time for in your own life right now? Ask yourself if now is the right time for some of the activities you're doing. Maybe it's time for a change. A time for something different. Or maybe it's time for some of the difficult things and you need to ask for God's peace, comfort and courage to get you through. Ask God to help you order your priorities and to give you his perspective so you know what it's time for in your life right now and ask for his peace.

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

What's your job and why do you do it? Or if you're a student, why are you trying to get the job you're after at the end? Is it for the money? For the holidays? For the fun? Maybe it's because it's the only job you can get and you don't feel you have much choice in the matter. Today we see that Solomon has done some serious thinking about why people work...


I work in a secondary school and sometimes I tell the students to ask their teachers if they would do their job for free! How about you? Would you do what you're doing now (or the job you're hoping for) if you didn't get paid?

So many people in this life hate their jobs and only do them because they think they have to. They're constantly counting down to 5pm and the weekend when they finally get to do what it is they actually want to do with their lives. And why do people do the lottery? Isn't it because they dream of having so much money that they never have to work again? They can finally tell their boss to shove their job and then head off and enjoy life.

It's tragic! Don't you think it's tragic that so many people get trapped into wasting 8 hours a day doing stuff they hate just so they can survive? And isn't it rubbish that so many only do what they want for 4 hours a day? Most people don't even manage that! Solomon says, 'All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest.'

People say it's better to 'work to live' than to 'live to work' but actually both of these ideas are a waste of time. Why should we work to live? Why can't we have life to the full when we're working, resting, playing and all the time? I truly believe that God wants us to enjoy our work in this way (v24). What if it were even possible to have life to the full beyond this short life? Solomon knows that this is our ultimate goal and that most people miss out on it completely because they get sucked into 'living to work' or 'working to live'. At the end of it, all we've worked for gets left behind and forgotten, or worse - undone by someone else!

Notice what Solomon says is the reward for those who please God: 'Wisdom, knowledge and happiness'. It's not about their stuff or money but about character and becoming more like God himself.

I work with young people in a school and I can truly say that I love my job. Would I do it for free? I can honestly say that I'm not sure. Maybe I would! Not just because I love it but because I know it's exactly where God wants me right now and I believe he's using me to bring people closer to him - and he's bringing me closer to him by doing it too. I believe he's changing me bit-by-bit to be more like him - to have more 'wisdom, knowledge and happiness'.

So why are you doing what you do? I think Solomon would say we should work for 'wisdom, knowledge and happiness' because this is the reward God gives to those who please him. What would it look like if this became the main reason you do what you do?

Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

To be honest, I've struggled to write this blog. Yesterday I was really busy and didn't get around to it and today I don't feel like I have the energy. I've scribbled a few notes and I'm not sure if any of it is worth sharing. Hmmm.

I want it to be good wise stuff that will do people good but at the same time I know it might end up being a load of rubbish. My dilemma makes me think about today's passage even more. Will I be wise in my writing or will I be wasting everyone's time? Solomon asks whether it really matters anyway in the grand scheme of things...


It's worth explaining about wisdom. Solomon's not asking 'Is it better to be clever or stupid?' He's talking about insight, not intelligence. Wisdom is not so much about knowledge as how to apply it. This means everyone has a choice about whether to be wise or not because it's not about natural ability. Since wisdom is available to all, Solomon asks whether it's worth bothering with.

Is a wise life any better than a life without wisdom? In the end both lives will be over and what difference will it make anyway? The answer to this question depends hugely on our perspective and how we view our lives. There's really two outlooks in this passage: the temporary and the eternal...

The temporary outlook... If all we care about is the short life we live in this world, then Solomon tells us it's better to live a wise life than a foolish one because by being wise, we see things clearly whereas without wisdom it's like being in the dark. He's saying that in this life we're better off if we live wisely. It will help things to go well for us and for others if the choices we make are wise ones. This makes sense, but it's not enough for Solomon and it shouldn't be enough for us either.

The eternal outlook... If we care about things beyond our own short life, then choosing wisdom over foolishness matters for a little while but really has no impact on things beyond our own death and it won't help us overcome death either. Solomon realises that we must consider the eternal outlook because it shows us the limitations of our own wisdom in this life. Our own wisdom will help us make temporary wise choices but it won't be enough to help us know God or to find complete peace. It's helpful but it's not enough.

Solomon asks, 'What do I gain by being wise?' and the answers to this question are all temporary benefits. Solomon, with his eternal outlook says, 'This too is meaningless.'

So I probably shouldn't worry too much about my blog today. In the end, as Solomon says, it won't be long remembered and it certainly won't stop me or anyone else from dying! It might be helpful (and I pray that it is) but it won't be that helpful! The point is that we should have an eternal outlook like Solomon. We need to see that 'wisdom is better than folly' but it won't bring us life to the full or life forever. Only God can do that.

Spend some silent time reflecting on how wisdom is developing in your own life and what that looks like and how it is helping you and others in this life and then ask God to help you to have an eternal outlook that realises the need for a relationship with him.

Rich

Sorry I haven't managed to post a blog today on Ecclesiastes. It's been a crazy busy day and although I've tried several times, I haven't managed to get the time to do it. I'll make it tomorrow though - promise.

In the meantime, if you've got just over 12 minutes to spare(!), take a look at this short film by Rob Bell called 'Rich'. It's an excellent and very relevant message to take on board at this point in what we're doing. So much so that when I watched it just now, it seemed like God wanted me to be too busy to blog today so I could share this instead.

Rich

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

What do you do when you really want to treat yourself and unwind? For me, I like to have a big dinner, watch a movie on the telly and eat chocolate. And if you know me at all, you know I'll probably be fast asleep before the movie's over! Bliss!

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Solomon embarks on his experiment to try out the things people do to be happy to see if they really work. He fully throws himself into them but all the time he's using his wisdom to evaluate the satisfaction he can ultimately gain from what he's doing. All the time he's coming back to our question - 'What's the point?' Each time he tries something new, he's wondering - 'Could this really be it?' and every time he's disappointed.

First he tries fun, drinking and partying and he throws himself into having some crazy fun times but still using his wisdom he realises that although fun for a while, it's ultimately not the point of life. He couldn't see that it achieved anything significant and was left feeling empty.

Then he tries money, stuff and power. He was rich and always developing new enterprises and earning respect as well as cash. He had everything money could buy and was more powerful than anyone before him and yet still he was left feeling empty and using his wisdom he realised that this too was not what life is all about.

Lots of people in our world seem like they are satisfied with these things though. Or at least they're happy to keep running after them. Maybe even you and I are more satisfied with them than we should be! Partying, fun times, alcohol, money, power, stuff. So many of us are happy to chase after these things yet Solomon's wisdom reminds us that this is not the point of life. In verse 10 he says that his heart took delight in all his work. Although he had fun in what he did and was glad to achieve things, he had the wisdom to see that all his accomplishments were in fact very small in the big picture and none of them would be enough to bring complete satisfaction in life. The fun he felt at the time was the total reward for all his efforts and when the moment had passed, there was nothing of any significance to show for it. It was all like chasing the wind - pointless. Nothing was gained under the sun.

We could learn a lot from this perspective today. What is it that you and I chase after 'under the sun'? In this world we enjoy many things but their pleasure passes quickly and we have nothing to show for it. We're left feeling empty and wondering what the point of life really is. I'm not saying that these things are bad necessarily (Solomon doesn't), but they're not the main thing. We need to be chasing after something else but what is it? None of these things Solomon has looked at so far have been enough to satisfy and many people after Solomon have discovered the same. What do you chase after? Is it more satisfying than the things Solomon found to be a waste of time - like chasing the wind?

Ask God to give you perspective today. Thank him for the things you enjoy and achieve but also ask his help to make sure you don't make these things the main focus of your life because ultimately, they don't measure up. Ask God to show you what you should be chasing after as we keep reading Ecclesiastes together. Life's got to be more than food, movies and chocolate!

Ecclesiastes 1

Have you ever said to yourself - 'What's the point?' or 'Why bother? It's not going to make any difference.' I'm sure we've all had these kinds of thoughts and said them out loud about all sorts of things. Maybe we've even said them about life itself. What's the point? The monotony of life goes on and on and I'm nothing in the grand scheme of things. I'm a blip, a speck of dust and no-one will care when I'm gone. Why bother? My short life is meaningless. If you've ever felt like this, you're not alone. The writer of Ecclesiastes (probably King Solomon) felt the same...


Seems like a pretty depressing book so far doesn't it? Why am I even blogging about it? I could easily have found something more inspiring and uplifting. The main reason I've gone for this book is because I'm convinced we can immediately identify with the writer and what he's saying because we've all had thoughts and feelings like these.

People get excited about all sorts of 'new' things but essentially Solomon's right: 'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun' (v9). True, there's new discoveries and inventions but ultimately they don't change our lives that much. They may well revolutionise certain tasks we have to perform but these things have little impact on the way we exist in humanity. We still live, breathe, talk, hear, see, smell, taste, touch, learn, yearn, strive, desire, love, hate and we all die. What's the point?

The cycle of life and death goes on and on and on. Even the cycles within life are fairly predictable and monotonous. The water cycle goes round and round, the earth spins, the sun rises and falls, the moon does its thing and the wind blows around and it doesn't make a scrap of difference. Where's the significance? What's the point?

Sometimes we find it hard to be motivated to do anything because of the hugeness of the universe and the predictability of the people we share it with. If people will continue to live and die long after I'm gone, what's the point in me getting a job or getting married or learning to drive or eating breakfast? My existence isn't changing anything. What's the point?

Solomon sees all that humanity does and he says 'what is crooked cannot be straightened' (v15). People's lives seem ineffectual and pointless. Even though he's attained great wisdom and understanding about things to make these observations, he says even this is pointless because he knows that knowing it won't change anything either! In fact, he realises that the more he learns, the more he's frustrated because he sees the futility of life even more clearly than before. What's the point?

Something's wrong here. Life wasn't like this in the beginning. God saw everything that he had made and said it was good. Really good! Being alive was good. Being part of creation was good. Living was good. Really good! What's gone wrong? In a word - sin. Sin has been wrecking our lives and our world since Genesis so much so that Solomon can make the observations he does and we know exactly what he's on about because we feel it too. We know all too well what life is like and how pointless it can feel.

In this book, Solomon will explore various avenues as he tries to answer the question we've been coming back to - 'What's the point?' I believe we will get more out of this book if we remember the bigger context. In the light of Genesis we can see that things are the way they are because we've lost something and we need to get it back! Things weren't always like this and they won't be like this for ever. We're caught in the middle time of living in a sinful world and it's not as it should be but there is hope because we know there's more to life than what we can see right now. We need to hold this in our minds otherwise we might get totally down for the next couple of weeks as we read this stuff! Remember Genesis! Remember hope! Solomon will take us there in the end but for now, let's wrestle with the difficult questions he asks on his journey to find out what the point of life really is.

A prayer - Father, thank you for life. Thank you that in the beginning you made all things good. But now things are a long way from good. You know exactly what's on my mind. You know the things that hurt me and confuse me. I'm sorry and I'm totally dependant on you for my next breath, for tomorrow and the rest of my life. Please help me see your bigger plan to restore things to what they were when you made them at the start. Please show me how you're remaking me even now. And may your love at work in my life bring me joy instead of despair! Amen!

Blogging on Ecclesiastes

The response to the James blogs has been really positive so thanks for reading and commenting!

Someone has suggested I do Ecclesiastes next and I'm definitely up for that so tomorrow will be the first part of the book of Ecclesiastes. It's not a huge book so I should get through it in a few weeks. It's actually the book I used to read when I got bored in church as a kid so it's become one of my favourite parts of scripture. It's been a while since I've read it properly so it'll do me good and I hope it will help others too.

I'm soon going to remove the James blogs as we move on because I'm going to get them published as a little book that will be available to buy online for about a fiver. Awesome! Watch this space for details of that.

Look out for the Ecclesiastes Blog event invite through Facebook and pass it on!

More blogs and that

Blogging on James - The Book!

Blogging on James is now available to buy as a paperback book or as a download. Enjoy!