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Finding Meaning in Life: A Pessimistic, Humanistic, and Atheistic Look Through the Book of Ecclesiastes
Finding Meaning in Life Through Experiences
Eccles. 1:8 “Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content”.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Pursuing Knowledge and Wisdom
Eccles. 1:18 “The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow”.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Pursuing Pleasure
Eccles. 2:1 “I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things in life’.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Hard Work
Eccles. 2:10b-11 “I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless- like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere”.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Money
Eccles. 5:15-17 “We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their work is for nothing-like working for the wind. Throughout their lives they live under a cloud-frustrated, discouraged, and angry”.
Finding Meaning in Life Only Comes Through Relationship With God
Eccles. 2: 24-26a “So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him.”
Finding Meaning in Life Comes Through Understanding God’s Timing
Eccles. 3:9-11 “What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
Part 2: Application
Finding Meaning in Life Through Experiences
Many times it is easy to want to spend life seeking experiences that are exciting. It’s not that having a curiosity of the world is wrong, but at times it can become a distraction from spending time and resources on more important things in life. These experiences are valuable for personal development, but only when done with God in mind. It is God who gives meaning to life and experiences. Without God, experiences are nothing. It’s easy to expect experiences in life to fulfill our desires. So we keep seeking for what gives meaning. But it is only God who can fully satisfy us.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Pursuing Knowledge and Wisdom
The knowledge and wisdom we pursue needs to be rooted in the wisdom and knowledge that comes from God. The bible talks about how people who philosophize are empty and deceitful. Solomon spent his life pursuing what he saw as wise in his own eyes- money, hard work, laughter, women, a beautiful home. And in the end he realized that all of it was vain, empty, toilsome, and a chasing after the wind. When we pursue God, the knowledge and wisdom we receive brings life to us.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Pursuing Pleasure
It’s easy to spend life being a pleasure seeker, gluttonous, shallow, and simple minded. When we are in pursuit of God, the pleasure that we seek gives life to ourselves, others, and our relationship with God. The pleasure isn’t selfish and sinful; instead it is intended to bring us joy. God gives gifts, and many of these are pleasuring, which is why it’s important to keep God in mind when we are enjoying something he has given us.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Hard Work
Hard work is valuable. God gives us tasks he wants us to accomplish and he wants us to do them with perseverance and joy. When we work hard without God in mind, it’s easy to find our identity in what we accomplish. Unfortunately, life isn’t predictable and it’s easy to loose everything that we’ve worked hard to accomplish. At the end of life, if we put our identity in everything we’ve worked for, we may end up becoming bitter. We may realize that we didn’t do what we thought we should have, or we didn’t do what we wanted to do as well as we wanted to. When we work for God and find meaning in the tasks he gives us to accomplish, we understand that our work goes beyond the results that we see. Only in heaven will we have the opportunity to fully understand how God used what we accomplished for him.
Finding Meaning in Life Through Money
Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 that it is good to have money and wisdom because they help you make it through life and can get you almost anything. But he also says that only wisdom can save your life. And at the end of life, money can’t go with you. Instead of making decisions in life with a career because it leads to a larger pay-check, instead make a decision for a career that leads to life. Something that you are passionate about, and then find a way that you can most benefit from it financially. Your career will have eternal rewards that go beyond a paycheck.
Finding Meaning in Life Only Comes Through Relationship With God
Finding meaning in life through experiences, wisdom and knowledge, pleasure, hard work, and money are not in and of themselves bad. It is only wrong to pursue meaning in these things when God is not at the foundation of all of it. God uses all these ways to teach us, strengthen us, and make us more like him.
Finding Meaning in Life Comes Through Understanding God’s Timing
When we have God’s understanding of time and eternity, we are able to see life in perspective. We are able to understand the value of experiences, wisdom and knowledge, hard work, and money. We are also able to see the value of having a relationship with God. Since it is true that God has placed eternity on the hearts of man, everything we do should be seen through the reality of eternity. As we are living our lives pursuing meaning, it is difficult at times to understand how God is using that journey. But God’s purposes and plans exist regardless.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Love.
Love is at the core of a human beings needs and desires. We all can only thrive on love. Children who are not loved emotionally can develop failure to thrive. This is where the body stops growing because the child isn't receiving affection. We literally cannot survive without love. So why is it that love is often not what we seek? It's easy to believe that we are worthy because of accomplishments and aspirations. But is is not a part of the human experience to "do". It is the human experience to "be". When we are being human, doing occurs as an outflow of that being. When we are living life being what gives us passion, that passion is naturally going to flow into doing. Being gives us a desire to live life to the fullest. To be human is to exist in the very moment that is present. To be is to know love. Love that is unconditional does not require any movement. It only requires that you accept that love in stillness. And then if your desire is movement, love will allow that. But it doesn't require it.
Love is at the core of a human beings needs and desires. We all can only thrive on love. Children who are not loved emotionally can develop failure to thrive. This is where the body stops growing because the child isn't receiving affection. We literally cannot survive without love. So why is it that love is often not what we seek? It's easy to believe that we are worthy because of accomplishments and aspirations. But is is not a part of the human experience to "do". It is the human experience to "be". When we are being human, doing occurs as an outflow of that being. When we are living life being what gives us passion, that passion is naturally going to flow into doing. Being gives us a desire to live life to the fullest. To be human is to exist in the very moment that is present. To be is to know love. Love that is unconditional does not require any movement. It only requires that you accept that love in stillness. And then if your desire is movement, love will allow that. But it doesn't require it.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
What I Learned From Trees
WHAT I LEARNED FROM TREES
Trees hold great symbolic meaning. Throughout all centuries of life and all faiths of people, trees hold meaning beyond the physical shape they hold.
A tree has three parts. It has its roots, its trunk, and its branches. The roots grow down deep. It gets its nutrients from the soil it grows in. If it isn’t planted in good soil, it rots or dies.
The roots of a tree symbolize our need for love and close relationships with family and friends.
The trunk of a tree symbolizes trials, experiences, and character development.
The branches of a tree symbolize possibilities, hope, trust, and flexibility.
What happens when the roots, trunk, or branches are damaged?
The Roots are damaged when we aren’t planted in God’s love and truth. We in turn are in soil that doesn’t nourish us. Instead we are trying to nourish ourselves in what can only leave us feeling more damaged, unsafe, wounded, and scattered from not having a safe place to build our foundation on, which is our trunk.
The Trunk is damaged when we haven't allowed God to transform us through trials and experiences. Instead we end up having a weak character. We haven't learned how to persevere so when the strong winds of life come our way, we are tossed wildly around by the wind instead of standing firm.
The Branches are damaged when we we do not know how to hope and trust. Because of past failures when we sought possibilities and change, we are afraid to be open to new experiences. Doing so leaves us feeling too vulnerable and exposed so instead we shrivel up; quietly dreaming. We become stiff and are not open to possibilities. We become inflexible because we are afraid of allowing change and vulnerability to enter into our life.
Each area of the tree needs to be healthy for the tree to function properly. The parts of the tree are interdependent and integrated.
As a tree's roots grow firly in nutritious soul, the nutrition enters the trunk and branches. As this occurs the trunk and the branches get larger and stronger. The roots span out further in the ground, the trunk stands more firm, and the branches reach out further. It's vital that each area of the tree remains strong in order to survive.
Would you like to become more rooted? ---Embrace God's love for you. Seek relationships with others where you feel loved, nourished, and protected. Also, listen to your branches. They have sweet wisdom for your ears. Branches tell you to trust when you have been hurt from trying to trust. Branches tell you to take a risk, to hope for more than what you can see. To hope for restoration in broken relationships. To trust God when it seems like he has failed you. Also, listen to your trunk. Your trunk will bring you strength and perseverance to continue to hope though trials, brokenness and failure. Your trunk is your core. It helps you stand firm, strong and in upright character.
Would you like your branches to reach out further?--- Remember that you can trust and hope in Christ. Remember God's promises for your life. Start to dream beyond what seems realistic or expected. And watch your faith grow. Ask God to increase your faith. Maybe you have been listening to lies your whole life about how you are a failure and can't do anything right leaving you feeling discouraged. Listen to you roots. Remember that through abiding in Christ, you can be rooted and established in God's love. Chose not to listen to the soil that doesn't nourish you. It is your choice. When your roots grow deep in God’s love you learn to trust God and also yourself because of the transformation God brings to your life and the wisdom he gives. You take risks again, and when you fail, you have your roots to help you know who you are as God's child and you have your trunk to strengthen you and give you perseverance to keep reaching.
Would you like a stronger trunk?-- Remember that God has said he will never give us more than we can handle. The trials that come our way are meant to strengthen us. They are meant to form in us a stronger character. If the same problems are always nocking you to the ground, and you haven't changed your approach to them- it may be a sign of a weak trunk. Your roots encourage you to keep persevering. Your roots help support you when you feel you are being tossed by the wind.
The main purpose of the trunk is to transfer the growth of your roots to branches, and to be strong to hold up your branches. It's the communicator between the roots and the branches. When we grow our branches faster than our trunk can support, we could snap at any moment. Do you ever feel like you reaching and striving, but don't have what it takes? Your trunk cautions you to be careful of taking on more than it can hold. Your roots tell you to slow down and reflect. No tree trunk can stand without being firmly rooted, because the branches will be too heavy.
When your roots receive healing and nourishment, your trunk can grow stronger. When your trunk is strong, its branches can span out farther. Your trunk is weak because you haven’t learned how to persevere. You have not chosen to work against the trials of your present and the issues of your past. Your issues of your past are usually found in your roots. When we work through issues our roots are healed and the core of ourselves is strengthened. Your roots need to be firmly planted in healthy relationships with God and others. Your roots need healing and constant nourishment. They are tender and can easily be grown down in the wrong places and turn bitter and rotten. Be careful. Your roots give the rest of you life. Your roots need to be planted in love, truth, and soil that they can grow in. Your trunk needs to learn perseverance and remain strong through trial and hardship. But be careful! That trunk can become stiff and unwilling to move. Your trunk is what shows your true character. It becomes wise not from age but from understanding God and why she allows us to go through trials. Your branches need to span out and reach for possibilities in life. They need to be made vulnerable to the winds that blow against it because what is gained is often better than what is risked. Your branches teach you to hope and trust in what is unseen. But be careful! Your branches can encourage you to take on much more that your trunk can hold or your roots are healed for.
And how does this transformation happen? From God.
Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God (ROOTS) through our LORD Jesus Christ. Into this grace in which we STAND, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance (TRUNK) produces character, and character produces hope (BRANCHES), and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Keep your ROOTS in him and have your lives BUILD on him.
Trees hold great symbolic meaning. Throughout all centuries of life and all faiths of people, trees hold meaning beyond the physical shape they hold.
A tree has three parts. It has its roots, its trunk, and its branches. The roots grow down deep. It gets its nutrients from the soil it grows in. If it isn’t planted in good soil, it rots or dies.
The roots of a tree symbolize our need for love and close relationships with family and friends.
The trunk of a tree symbolizes trials, experiences, and character development.
The branches of a tree symbolize possibilities, hope, trust, and flexibility.
What happens when the roots, trunk, or branches are damaged?
The Roots are damaged when we aren’t planted in God’s love and truth. We in turn are in soil that doesn’t nourish us. Instead we are trying to nourish ourselves in what can only leave us feeling more damaged, unsafe, wounded, and scattered from not having a safe place to build our foundation on, which is our trunk.
The Trunk is damaged when we haven't allowed God to transform us through trials and experiences. Instead we end up having a weak character. We haven't learned how to persevere so when the strong winds of life come our way, we are tossed wildly around by the wind instead of standing firm.
The Branches are damaged when we we do not know how to hope and trust. Because of past failures when we sought possibilities and change, we are afraid to be open to new experiences. Doing so leaves us feeling too vulnerable and exposed so instead we shrivel up; quietly dreaming. We become stiff and are not open to possibilities. We become inflexible because we are afraid of allowing change and vulnerability to enter into our life.
Each area of the tree needs to be healthy for the tree to function properly. The parts of the tree are interdependent and integrated.
As a tree's roots grow firly in nutritious soul, the nutrition enters the trunk and branches. As this occurs the trunk and the branches get larger and stronger. The roots span out further in the ground, the trunk stands more firm, and the branches reach out further. It's vital that each area of the tree remains strong in order to survive.
Would you like to become more rooted? ---Embrace God's love for you. Seek relationships with others where you feel loved, nourished, and protected. Also, listen to your branches. They have sweet wisdom for your ears. Branches tell you to trust when you have been hurt from trying to trust. Branches tell you to take a risk, to hope for more than what you can see. To hope for restoration in broken relationships. To trust God when it seems like he has failed you. Also, listen to your trunk. Your trunk will bring you strength and perseverance to continue to hope though trials, brokenness and failure. Your trunk is your core. It helps you stand firm, strong and in upright character.
Would you like your branches to reach out further?--- Remember that you can trust and hope in Christ. Remember God's promises for your life. Start to dream beyond what seems realistic or expected. And watch your faith grow. Ask God to increase your faith. Maybe you have been listening to lies your whole life about how you are a failure and can't do anything right leaving you feeling discouraged. Listen to you roots. Remember that through abiding in Christ, you can be rooted and established in God's love. Chose not to listen to the soil that doesn't nourish you. It is your choice. When your roots grow deep in God’s love you learn to trust God and also yourself because of the transformation God brings to your life and the wisdom he gives. You take risks again, and when you fail, you have your roots to help you know who you are as God's child and you have your trunk to strengthen you and give you perseverance to keep reaching.
Would you like a stronger trunk?-- Remember that God has said he will never give us more than we can handle. The trials that come our way are meant to strengthen us. They are meant to form in us a stronger character. If the same problems are always nocking you to the ground, and you haven't changed your approach to them- it may be a sign of a weak trunk. Your roots encourage you to keep persevering. Your roots help support you when you feel you are being tossed by the wind.
The main purpose of the trunk is to transfer the growth of your roots to branches, and to be strong to hold up your branches. It's the communicator between the roots and the branches. When we grow our branches faster than our trunk can support, we could snap at any moment. Do you ever feel like you reaching and striving, but don't have what it takes? Your trunk cautions you to be careful of taking on more than it can hold. Your roots tell you to slow down and reflect. No tree trunk can stand without being firmly rooted, because the branches will be too heavy.
When your roots receive healing and nourishment, your trunk can grow stronger. When your trunk is strong, its branches can span out farther. Your trunk is weak because you haven’t learned how to persevere. You have not chosen to work against the trials of your present and the issues of your past. Your issues of your past are usually found in your roots. When we work through issues our roots are healed and the core of ourselves is strengthened. Your roots need to be firmly planted in healthy relationships with God and others. Your roots need healing and constant nourishment. They are tender and can easily be grown down in the wrong places and turn bitter and rotten. Be careful. Your roots give the rest of you life. Your roots need to be planted in love, truth, and soil that they can grow in. Your trunk needs to learn perseverance and remain strong through trial and hardship. But be careful! That trunk can become stiff and unwilling to move. Your trunk is what shows your true character. It becomes wise not from age but from understanding God and why she allows us to go through trials. Your branches need to span out and reach for possibilities in life. They need to be made vulnerable to the winds that blow against it because what is gained is often better than what is risked. Your branches teach you to hope and trust in what is unseen. But be careful! Your branches can encourage you to take on much more that your trunk can hold or your roots are healed for.
And how does this transformation happen? From God.
Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God (ROOTS) through our LORD Jesus Christ. Into this grace in which we STAND, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance (TRUNK) produces character, and character produces hope (BRANCHES), and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Keep your ROOTS in him and have your lives BUILD on him.
Humans in Hiding.
Humans have a condition. Humans want to be KNOWN. We want to wake up having that sense of security that a special person in our life knows the precious and deepest parts of us. We want to reveal ourselves to others. But we don't know how. We don't know how to be vulnerable with others. We hide who we really are in an effort to please others and become who we think they want us to be. Out of fear we even control others because we are affraid of our own vulnerability. We walk around with a mask. We hide ourselves from those we love. We all do it. I do it. You do it. Our moms and brothers do it. Our leaders do it. Everyone does it. We all walk around wounded because we aren't willing to be vulnerable and show who we really are. When we show who we really are at our core and the goodness that exists in us- there is freedom and there is healing.
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