Scripture Reading:
Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7;
Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 22:16
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now,
you're just coming out of one,
or you're getting ready to go into another one.
~Rick Warren
you're just coming out of one,
or you're getting ready to go into another one.
~Rick Warren
Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12
If you were depressed and feeling low, I would not send you to the book of Ecclesiastes to pull you out of your funk. This is not that kind of book. This is a book that will put you into the dumps because the point of Ecclesiastes is to show you that life without God is purposeless. You have more than likely heard of Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life. If you have never read it, I highly recommend it. Rick's book is the opposite of Ecclesiastes. In it Rick states,
Today we see that Solomon's despair over oppression leads him to conclude that we are better off dead than alive. This, once again, is godless philosophy. In a fallen world it is inevitable that a multitude of things will go wrong and be unjust. Solomon mentions people succeeding because of envy, lazy people being so lazy that they starve, a person working for himself with no family to support, and a king being developed to rule and achieve popularity only to have the next generation reject him. Pointless. Solomon's conclusion is that it doesn't matter how you live or what you achieve. It is all meaningless."People ask me ,'What is the purpose of life?' And I respond: 'In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in heaven.'"
Solomon then launches into how meaningless religion can be on the earth. Solomon warns against making rash vows to God. This is meaningless. He laments that riches bring so many problems without equivalent happiness. He continues in his negative rant and eventually concludes that it would be better to be born dead. This would prevent growing up to be an unhappy man. You can imagine how the teen suicide rate is so high if you have the type of godless philosophy that Solomon is portraying. It is a fatalistic approach to life. It leads to wishing you were dead.
As a Christian do you understand how your relationship with Christ changes your purpose in a fallen world? Our joy does not depend upon our circumstances. Our hope rests on a future reality. Rick Warren says we are in a process of becoming the person we will be for eternity. "I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act- the dress rehearsal."
Do you have a purposeless driven life or a purpose driven life?
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7
The Apostle Paul is the original "Purpose Driven Life" guy. This man knew why he was created, and he pursued each day with the determination of a person who intends to fulfill that purpose completely.
Today, Paul instructs believers not to team up with unbelievers. He reminds the Corinthians that there is no compatibility between darkness and light. An application of this for today would be for Christians to avoid being around people who consistently spout godless fatalistic philosophies. This type of life approach can serve no good purpose.
Paul encourages Christians to keep their bodies pure from evil. We are to live holy lives because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God is dwelling in us. This gives us purpose. It gives us a reason to live holy lives. Our behavior matters. It matters for the present and for the future.
Psalm 47:1-9
This is a psalm showing that God has His purposes on the earth.
Proverbs 22:16
Solomon speaks about the rich getting ahead by oppressing the poor. This is never good.
What did you notice today as you read?
Blessings,
Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton
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