Next, I came across the final chapters of the book. These spoke the strongest to me. We are to enjoy each day God has given us to its fullest. "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment." (11:9)
Just like every other person I am not perfect and sin, however I feel like I know right from wrong. When I do something wrong I always have this guilty conscience telling me I did wrong. At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon concludes: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (12:13-14) Sometimes this can scare me, but it always inspires me to be a better Christian everyday.
I agree that at the beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes it seemed to be rather serious and the focus was on insignificance. As the book moved along though, I felt like Solomon starting sharing his beliefs that we are capable of having fun and enjoying ourselves as long as we are not sinning or hurting God. I think what Solomon is trying to say is that we can enjoy our earthly possessions while we have them, but they will be unimportant to us after we die. He clearly says in several places that we are allowed to enjoy ourselves, but we must be accountable for our actions and any secrets we have.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought... In Dr. Holtz class we are reading about influences on Christianity. One thing that I found most interesting in studying Egyptian culture (not in this class) is that they believed that you DO take your material possessions with you. Specifically, when you are rich and wealthy. The wealthy in Egyptian culture would be buried with their riches--sometimes, even slaves would be buried with their masters, along with pets. They believed that life continued after death, and that you should keep what you have earned in the first life so that, in essence, you have a one up on the other guys.
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said about Solomon's perspective on material things. No matter how much Solomon has, he knows that these "things" are meaningless. The biggest misconception that Americans have is the idea that these material things provide happiness and security. We look at celebrities, politicians, people working on wall street, and we think to ourselves, "What wonderful lives these people have! They must be so happy, they are on top of the world!" This is so wrong. I think many of these people quickly realized, after gaining all of this money and power, that without love, without God, there is nothing. Solomon was so wise for thinking this way, and I wish more people around the world understood that no "thing" can bring about the happiness or fulfillment into one's life that God brings.
ReplyDeleteLike many people previously commented, my first reaction in reading this blog was to automatically think of one of our favorite things to both criticize and indulge in, American consumerism. I always viewed this as a double edged sword for a few reasons. First: many people like to criticize our consumer/"bigger is better" attitudes because deep in our hearts, we know our culture prides itself much on gluttony and over indulgence. but yet, many of us, almost innately contribute to the survival/vitality of that cultural mindset. Which leads me to ask the question. Is there really anything truly wrong with a little over indulgence ever now again? is it really THAT wrong to find a little pleasure/satisfaction from material things (if its not taken to extremes) If we take an "anti consumerism" attitude too far, they we may just be ridding ourselves of one way to enjoy themselves. Like someone commented, in Ecclesiastes, I don't think Soloman ever says we can't/shouldn't enjoy the things we own, so long as we are ACCOUNTABLE and AWARE of the consequences (good or bad) on the day of our judgment. As long as we are personally okay, normally good natured, aware, and take responsibility, I think Judgment is something that doesn't have to be feared nearly as much as it sometimes is.
ReplyDelete*random question (i've always wondered this just from my own curiosity) where does everyone think a persons conscience come from? from God? or is it possible to be from somewhere else, and if there are other possibilities, what are they? I've never been able to come to a clear answer on this.
Interesting thread of comments. There is definitely a lot that in Ecc. that contradicts itself. Sometimes it's like the author just isn't sure of how to believe or act. In that way, he is very much like all of us.
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