Life Is Never Perfect

There is one word that I see repeated through the book of Ecclesiastes. As translated by the NIV the word is “meaningless”. The word meaningless, in the Hebrew, which was the language the OT was written in, means a breath, or a vapor. The writer of Ecclesiastes is saying that life is temporary. Nothing on earth is permanent.

Last week Kristi and I had a short conversation with the kids about how we perceive life. There are two basic perceptions. People choose to be optimists or pessimists. The glass is either half-full or half empty. What is interesting to me as I read through Ecclesiastes, is that this book like no other in Scripture is defined by the perception of the reader, whether they see life as optimists or pessimists.

Let’s take a look at Ecclesiastes 11 from someone who would typically perceive life as if the glass is half empty. And then we’ll take a second look from the opposite perspective. I’m hoping that as we go through this exercise you will discover a little more about yourself and how you relate to God.

Read Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. But divide your investments among many places,for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

Great. I’m going to work my butt off just to have it all taken away.

When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

Yeah, it’s always raining. If you want to plan something outside just know it’s going to rain.

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

God is going to do, what God is going to do, and there aint a thing you can do about it. You can work all you want but if God wants to just take it all away from you, too bad. He gives and He takes away.

Now, we are going to re-read these 6 verses again but take a more optimistic or glass is half full approach.

Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. But divide your investments among many places,for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

I’m going to be prepared and patient.

When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

I’m going to take care of my responsibilities for today.

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

God has got this. I just have to be focused on Him.

So which perception did you feel more in tune with? I’m not going to ask you to raise your hands, but, hopefully you get the picture. Your attitude does impact the way you hear God’s Word.

For just a moment let’s take a closer look at these 6 verses of Ecclesiastes and how it relates to the truth that life is never perfect. The one thing that I took away from this passage of Scripture was that

Life is always a risk

If you struggle with fear, worry and anxiousness this probably isn’t news to you. Every parent who has a kid old enough to drive knows this. The older we get, the more risky life seems. My grandma risks more than I do just getting out of a chair and walking across a room. Her bones are old and brittle. Apparently this is why young people make great soldiers. CNN Pentagon Producer Larry Shaughnessy, says, “Scientists believe that the part of the brain called the frontal cortex isn't fully developed in young adults. And that part of the brain is partly responsible for decision making and moderating social behavior. That's why young people often make good soldiers who will follow dangerous orders to risk their lives in combat without questioning their leaders” Life is risky. There are any number of things that can happen to us to end our life, a car accident, cold blooded murder, disease, drowning, suicide, or any other kind of accident. You get the picture.