If I were to make a list of things I think about throughout the day, it would probably look something like this:
-Do I have to get out of bed?
-I’m pretty sure coffee is a sign of how much God loves us.
-Was I supposed to prepare something for this meeting?
-Mmm, lunch.
-This project is going to take longer than I thought.
-What will I have for supper?
-I wonder how so-and-so is doing?
-Sleep is my favorite.
In other words, pretty mundane, earthly things. The little bits that make up a life. It’s quite infrequent that I think about what kind of picture those little bits are coming together to make—the picture both here on earth, and the picture in eternity.
If we take a look at Ecclesiastes, it seems as though the Teacher would say that all of the little bits have no value. As Pastor Dirk explained though, it’s more accurate to say that Ecclesiastes is pointing out the fleeting nature of everything we do. Our actions have value in their own way, but it’s value that matters for today, tomorrow, and maybe a few years, but likely not beyond our lifetimes. It’s a very limited kind of value.
At first glance, Ecclesiastes 10:19 sounds like the recipe for a pretty awesome life.
“A feast is made for laughter,
wine makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.”
Food, wine, money—sounds great. Except, when we read it in light of the whole of Ecclesiastes, we find that these are just the same types of everyday things that, while not necessarily bad, have no lasting significance. The thoughts and tasks that fill our days—whether it’s eating, sending emails, loading the dishwasher, reading a book, watching a movie—are often the kind that the Teacher may have labelled temporary and fleeting.
I wonder, though, if it’s more than our actions that the Teacher would have labelled temporary. As we go about our days, life is happening, with all its messiness and beauty. Problems and frustrations get us down, successes and good things make us happy, and we live our lives. What if we began to view these things as fleeting, too?
Again, I don’t think it’s about devaluing them—there is so much worth in these lives we build—but about getting the right view of them. So many of the things we worry and stress and get angry about are really quite trivial when we look at them in light of eternity. It doesn’t mean they don’t matter at all, but they matter in a different way. We, and our lives, become smaller, and God and his grand plan become bigger as we learn to see our own problems and struggles in light of eternity. We will still experience hurt and joy, tears and laughter, and everything else, but if we can remember that these too are fleeting, we may be able to focus our lives on what will last--and orient everything we do and say accordingly.
[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She is a passionate supporter of the Oxford comma. You can read more of her musings on her own blog or follow her on Twitter @bwitt722.]
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