The Things You Find...

Well not that the long weekend is over, let's get back into with Ecclesiastes 5.

Go on. Get reading.

I've been trying different things with this series I guess you could call it, to see what works best. But feed back doesn't exist, and it really depends how I'm feeling that particular day. So let's do this.

The first 3 verses when I read them kind of stood out to me as instruction for prayer. I get this from the words, "nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God." Of course there's more to that, but that tells me that this is about talking to God.

-We are told to "guard your steps when you go to the house of God." Well back when this was written they had the temple, where sacrifices were made to atone for sin. (Other things went on as well, but this will suffice for now.) Yet with the idea of guarding your steps as you enter the house of God, well we are the new tabernacle, the new house of God. So how can we guard our steps while coming before God in ourselves? Have you ever prayed to God without mentally preparing for it? If you're asking what I mean by that, then yes, you have. You know that you have not mentally prepared for it by having yourself chase rabbits, random thoughts that come into your head. You were talking to God about asking to heal grandma Betty, and now you're thinking about  how dream sequences are horrible in movies. Guard your thoughts which lead to steps when you come before God. Give him your undivided attention, because he's actually worthy of it.

-When you come into the house of God, most come to talk, few come to listen. "To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of the fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil." The idea behind sacrifice is to give up something worth a good bit for the sin you have committed. Jesus came and we don't need to do that anymore. Yet isn't prayer a sacrifice of our time if we do it by guarding our thoughts? By actually keeping track of what we say and do while spending time with God? And this includes sitting in silence listening to him, which is better than the sacrifice of fools, shot off half cocked and only with part of their mind on the task at hand.

-Watch what you say to him. Remember, he is the only God there is, and while he loves you and cares for you, he deserves, and demands, your respect. Act accordingly with what you say to him. We saw in chapter 3 that there is a time for everything. This includes different ways to talk to God. First off always be willing to listen. But there are times to be thankful, times to beg for mercy, times for seeking healing or peace, and there are times to rage. Some may not agree with this, that's fine, but I have had times where I've had not so polite conversations with God. But I also have no had polite conversations with my parents before. Remember that with God it is always a safe place, but show him respect, and think before you speak. (This also gives you time to cool off before you say something stupid.) Thinking before you speak is giving you time to mentally prepare before coming to God.

With all of that out of the way, we can move on.

Making a vow, or a promise, to God is a serious thing. This is seen in the gospels when Jesus says, "Let your yes be yes and your no be no." Say what you mean, and if you say you're going to do something, do it. And do it fast. Especially when making a promise to God because "He takes no pleasures in fools." Making promises to God is so serious that it's better to just not make one than it is to make one and not fulfill it.

The problem of making vows and not keeping them is a problem of dreaming too big and boasting too much. Now I'm not saying you can't do anything. But when you start saying you're going to be the owner of a Fortune 500 company and you're going to do it all on your own, God may come in and make you sit down. But we have these big dreams, and then big words to back the dreams up, boasting in our dreams, yet we don't see that those dreams and words are useless. I used to have the dream of starting a church plant in inner city New York for kids, starting the discipleship process to that they can impact the world. I was going to become famous, get rich, preach at huge conferences, and teach college. I had big dreams for me. God had other plans, and now I'm in campus ministry, the church's best kept secret. My dreams and words increased, and I saw that it was all pointless, because it was what I wanted and it all would fade away. When the realization came that God wanted me elsewhere doing other things for now, I was first off humbled. But then I realized I wasn't respecting God, I didn't fear him. I still had the mentality my family gave me of "you have to make money." I was fearful of failing my family, my parents, and just failure in general. I wasn't fearful of failing God. But now he's put me in my place so that we can impact the world.

Next up Solomon talks about civil order. Things are going to go wrong in our lives, and we will see a lot of injustice. Homeless, poverty, substance abuse, child abuse, sexual assaults, murder, and the list can go on. As of right now the people who run this country don't care about the "people below them." In the words of Cersei Lannister, their thought is, "They're so small I can't even see them." But something that would be great, would be absolutely perfect for a country, is if a king was committed to cultivated fields. Or, if a king was actually committed to making sure the poor and the hungry, and impoverished were taken care of.

There are those that have lots of money though. And verses 10-11 connect directly with Matthew 6.19-24 (go read it lazy). But verse 11 is something that needs explaining, because for me it took a few to get it. As goods increase in stock, they become more available. Then with them becoming available, the only advantage to getting them is to sit there and look at them, making it a non-advantage, because everyone has them.

Then the last 3 verses deal specifically with joy. What is fitting for us in life is to eat and drink and be happy, enjoying the life that God has given us with its work and hardships and struggles and good times and rewards and ease; for this is the lot that has been given to us, by God himself, picked especially for each and everyone of us. Those given power and possessions are also given by God, and are to be enjoyed. God has given us everything we need to be happy. The trick is to understand that and be thankful for what we have. I just recently moved into a house, and it was utterly empty. Absolutely nothing in it. Yet I had a twin mattress that I could throw on the floor, a chair to sit in, a toilet, shower, and microwave, I was set. I didn't have much, but I had enough to get by and I was happy with that. Then my parents came and gave me a bunch of stuff I was fine without, but I'm thankful for that as well, and enjoy those things just as much as what I had before. God had given us each life, and we are to enjoy what he has thrown our way.

Until tomorrow readers.