Obedience is a Good Thing

Read Ecclesiastes 8

So I've been reading through this book in The Message, and I really like it. Most people will disagree, but I really get the feel for what's being said as opposed to another translation. And yes, I use the word translation intentionally. All text except the original Greek and Hebrew are paraphrases, yet we call some translations and others paraphrases. So for me both are translations/paraphrases, and I like the word translation better.

"But Mike," you may be asking, "Which is the best Bible to read?" Well KJV of course! It's the only true translation and if you read anything else you're going to hell!

Just kidding.

In the words of the great Dr. Girdwood, "The best translation is the one that you will actually read."

So for this I read the Message. Deal with it.

The first verse tells us some things that wisdom does. I suggest you have a look see there.

The next good bit, and the rest of the chapter relates to this, is obedience. It's a good thing. We are told that we should obey our king. Well who is our king? Let me ask you this: What is the Kingdom of God?

If you can't connect the dots, I'll explain it! Jesus came and brought the Kingdom of God. The end of Matthew 4 Jesus sits down and says, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is near." And another time he tells us that it's already here.

Before Saul became king of Israel (Book of 1st Samuel), before David and Solomon (the 3rd king of Israel and writer of this book) God was king over Israel. But Israel whined and complained that they wanted to be like the other kids in the neighborhood and have another dad to tell them what to do. Well God wasn't too happy about that, but gave it to them anyway, if anything just to teach them how stupid they are. God was no longer their only king, they had another now. They were no longer ruled by God.

This is what it means to be in the Kingdom of God, to have God be ruler of your life, have him be your king.
And the King gives us some things that we're supposed to do. We are to obey those things. That is what this chapter is getting at. And one of the biggest things that he tells us to do is: BE WISE AND GOOD.

Now of course we can't really be good, because we're in a fallen world. And we can't really be wise, because we don't live long enough to do that. Yet we are to still strive for it.

Now the world will try and trick you into not doing these things. When you're following God life will get harder for you and it'll seem like karma is just crushing you because you're a horrible person. But you're not a horrible person. By no stretch of the imagination are you perfect, I mean you're a fallen human who has sinned in life. But those people who are sleeping around, dealing, drinking, murdering, breaking the laws of God and men, they're prospering like they're perfect. Man that looks appealing. I should do that. Yet...I'm in the Kingdom of God, and I'm supposed to obey my King.

So which do you choose?

Obey your King and have a harder life?
or...
Do as the world does and prosper now?

That's your call. But which would you rather prosper in? Now or eternity?