The Teacher is telling us to shut up and listen when we go to the house of God. Phillips, Craig & Dean have a song that plays on K-Love all the time http://www.klove.com/lyrics/lyrics.asp?566 , and it comes from Ecclesiastes 5:2. He is God, and we are not; so why do we chatter on as we do? When I pray, I need to listen to what God has to say to me rather than ordering Him around on my agenda. Verse 6 directs us, “Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.” A word to the wise this fine Wednesday morning!
Verse 10 hits very close to home this week since our retirement accounts took a nose dive as a result of the national economic conditions. “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.” My husband and I have very opposite spending habits. He likes to describe me as a tightwad, and I label him as an impulse buyer. The fact of the matter is that due to our sinful natures, we are both “lovers of money.” One of us can never have enough in the bank, and the other of us can never have enough to satisfy our wish list at the retail stores. Dear Jesus, may our family find our satisfaction in You today, no matter how much or how little You provide for us materially. May we find our fulfillment in our relationship to the God of Heaven. Forgive us for trying to hoard it all for ourselves. Verse 15, “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.” Trent likes to say that he’s never seen a U-Haul following a hearse to the cemetery.
Verses 18-20 really sum up everything the Teacher has been getting at. Eat, drink, and be merry. If God grants you wealth plus the ability to actually enjoy your possessions, then count it as a double blessing. Think about this. What material blessing have you thanked God for this week? Do you thank Him for your automobile, or do you complain about high gas prices? Do you thank Him for your home, or do you sit and worry about what needs fixing? Do you thank Him for your closet full of clothes, or do you whine that you have nothing to wear? All of us are guilty of wanting more, more, more and being thankful for very little of it when we get it.
Looking forward to hearing your comments!
Dana, I was reminded last weekend that one of the spiritual disciplines is simplicity - and that's been our family's goal this summer and fall. We have too much stuff and your post today really reminds me to keep on task. All this stuff empties our bank account and complicates our day as we have to manage (store, sort, dispose of) all the stuff we didn't need in the first place. "Seek first the kingdom of God...." Thanks for a good post! Kathy
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathy! I'm proud of your family! Our family's prayer yesterday morning was that we would not be selfish with all God has blessed us with. We pray that we will share it with others.
ReplyDeleteI went to my grandma's funeral yesterday and I also was so reminded that this life is not about me and what I can get out of it but what God has given me and the blessings that I am able share with others. We shared our memories about our Mom, grandma and friend. My grandmother lived on very little but her life was full of reading the Bible daily, being a prayer warrior, reading with children at the local school, tending to her roses and peach trees. She never needed to be trendy or have all of the things that others work so hard at aquiring. The main thing she would ask was if we had been in the Word that day and how our relationship was with Christ. Thank you God for my dear Grammer! Praise be to God for taking her home and healing her.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a testimony! At the end of my days on earth, I pray my descendants will know that I loved Jesus and that I wanted them to love Him too. If I cannot pass on any material possessions to them, I pray that they will inherit a strong faith in the LORD.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your grandmother's story with us, Melinda. We are saddened by your loss, but we rejoice with the angels that she is in heaven today.