SERIES: BE SATISFIED
“LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST”
ECCLESIASTES 11:1-10
Chuck Swindoll tells about a sign along an Alaskan highway that reads: “Choose your rut carefully. You’ll be in it for the next 200 miles.” Lots of people are in ruts and don’t even know it. Most of us tend to settle for predictable and comfortable lives – especially those of us who are Christians. We’re apt to believe that the more comfortable and predictable we are, the more Christian we are.
Very few of us dare to be bold with our lives and seize every day as a fresh gift from God. Ps. 118:24 – This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Instead of saying, “Good morning, Lord,” we say, “Good Lord, it’s morning!” Very few people roll out of bed in the morning with a fresh enthusiasm for the opportunities God presents for them that day.
In this next to the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon tells us, “Don’t play it safe!” Don’t let fear, pessimism, and paranoia rule your life. Decide to enjoy life instead of just enduring life.
He’s spent the two previous chapters teaching us that unpredictable things happen in our lives and the only way to live life is under God’s providential hand. It’s the only way that life is fulfilling. But he reminds us that living life under God’sprovidential hand involves some risk. But when we risk according to God’s purpose, we are greatly rewarded.
LIVE LIFE GENEROUSLY
Eccl. 11:1 – Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. This verse is not very meaningful to our current society. In biblical times, the most profitable business was the import and export business. You had to trust your “bread” on the “waters”.
Your product made more money when shipped by sea than by land. It got to its destination quicker. You were more able to take advantage of economic conditions. The profit would then come back to you in a greater way. But there were some risks involved: pirates, storms, and disreputable “middle men” who might steal your profit.
However, there were much greater risks that take place when you didn’t send out your bread. If you just store the bread, it molds. Then you lose your investment as well. The idea is that it’s better to get it to market and have a chance to make some profit as opposed to just letting it sit and rot. I’m reminded of the parable of the talents where the servant buried his money in the ground. He got nothing out of it – not even what he could have earned by just depositing it with a banker.
Solomon is talking about generosity. Don’t hold back! Whatever you have, put it out there. Invest in people. Don’t let what God has given you just sit and do nothing. And that doesn’t just mean money. It means treasure as well as time, talent, and testimony. Too many people live by this philosophy: Get all you can. Can all you get. Then sit on the can. That’s the philosophy of life “lived under the sun.”
Life “lived under heaven” operates under a different principle. Solomon tells us in Prov. 11:24-25 – One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Jesus put it this way in Lk. 6:3, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Eccl. 11:2 – Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. Don’t send all your stuff out on one ship. If you send it on one and something calamitous happens, you’ve lost everything. If you send it on several, your product will not all be destroyed. In financial circles, they call this
“diversifying your portfolio.”
Solomon is saying that generosity does not stop by giving to just one thing. Generosity invests in multiple things. The phrase “give portions to seven, yes to eight…” has to be understood in light of Hebrew numerology. “7” is the number of completion or completeness. “8” is one step beyond.
In Prov. 19:17, Solomon says, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for
what he has done.”
Solomon’s advice in these two verses is that life will produce nothing of significance without faith. The key to living by faith is acting without being able to see exactly how things will turn out. 2 Cor. 5:7 – “We live by faith, not by sight.”
Kevin Harney tells this story in his book Seismic Shifts:
Years ago, a little boy named Dustin entered the Smarties stage of life. It might not be in the
psychological journals, but there is a time in the development of every child when they are ready to receive
their first pack of Smarties. You remember Smarties, a row of multicolored, chalk-like, bite-size candies
wrapped in clear plastic, about 10 to 12 pieces in a pack. They are perfect for sharing.
I am not a huge fan of Smarties, but when I saw Dustin come into church with a fresh roll, I just had to
ask him if I could have one.
Dustin immediately became my Smarties hero. He peeled out a piece with a smile and handed it over
gladly. This was surprising enough, but at that moment, something happened in this little boy’s heart. From
that day on, for the next two years, every time Dustin got a pack of Smarties, he took out the first one and set
it aside for me. Every Sunday, Dustin would track me down at church and generously offer me one or more
Smarties. He did it gladly, with a smile, as if he enjoyed it.
Sometimes Dustin would open a pack of Smarties during the week, but he would still save me the first
round, sugary, chalky tablet in his pocket. By the time Sunday came, the Smarty was a little mangy and
would have lint and other pocket paraphernalia stuck to it, but he never forgot to bring it for me. In those
cases, I thanked him and put it in my pocket so I could "enjoy it later."
Dustin loved Smarties. He also loved his pastor. Every week before the worship service began, Dustin
and I shared a time of communion. Jesus was present as we shared a few moments of conversation and
partook of some Smarties together.
Somewhere along the way, Dustin’s mother pointed out that the packs of Smarties she bought for him had
ten pieces, and she saw this weekly ritual as Dustin’s introduction to tithing. What I saw was a little boy who
loved to share and who understood the power of generosity. Since that time, I have asked myself many
times, How am I doing with my Smarties? Live life generously.
LIVE LIFE BOLDLY
Eccl. 11:3-4 – If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. Solomon tees us that there are some things over which we have no control. We can’t wait for the most ideal conditions or it will be too late.
What excuses are holding you back? What excuses are keeping you from making Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? What excuses are you making for not living a life of bold faith and obedience to the One who boldly gave His all for you?
Eccl. 11:5-6 – As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally.
We’ll never have everything figured out. Rom. 11:13 tells us, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! If you’re going to wait until everything is just right and you’ve got everything figured out, you’ll never get anything done.
Combining verses 3-6, Solomon is saying, “Clouds are going to bring rain. Trees are going to fall. The wind is going to blow. Don’t let obstacles stop you from doing what you’re supposed to do.”
The problem is excuses. I can’t plant my crop because the wind might blow the seed away. I can’t harvest my crop because it might rain. Prov. 22:13 – “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside!’ or, ‘I will be
murdered in the streets!’” Meaning: A lazy person will use any excuse to get out of doing what they’re supposed to do.
Guess what? There is always going to be an excuse to wait for a better time. Billy Sunday said that an excuse is like a sausage. He defined an excuse as “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.”
A Georgia farmer was sitting out on the steps of his tumbledown house. A stranger stopped by for a drink from the farmer’s well and asked: “How’s your cotton coming along?”
The farmer replied: “Ain’t got none.”
The stranger asked, “Did you plant any?” “Nope,” said the farmer, “Afraid of bollweevils.”
The stranger then asked, “Well, then, how’s your corn?” “Didn’t plant no corn either. Afraid there weren’t gonna be enough rain.”
The stranger persisted. “How are your potatoes?” “Didn’t plant none. Scared of potato bugs.”
The stranger was now frustrated. He asked, “Well, what did you plant?” The farmer said, “Nothing. I just played it safe.”
I know so many Christians who live life by that philosophy. Have you ever prayed fervently and consistently? Nope. Have you ever committed to studying your Bible everyday? Nope. Have you ever talked to anyone about their relationship with Christ? Nope. Have you ever lived by Christ’s example to be a servant to all? Nope. What have you done for the kingdom? Nothing. Just playing it safe.
Solomon says, “Do the best you can and leave the outcome to God.” That’s important. Don’t forget the God factor: what is impossible to man is possible with God. Paul reminds us in Eph. 3:20 that God can do immeasurably more that we can ever ask or imagine.
Larry Walters lived in a little suburb outside of Los Angeles just south of the L.A. Airport. Larry, a truck driver, used to spend his weekends in his backyard sitting in his favorite lawn chair with a six-pack and some peanut butter sandwiches.
Several years ago, when Larry was sitting around looking at all the fences around him in the subdivision where he lived, he got an idea. He decided he would go and buy some weather balloons, fill them with helium, and tie them to his lawn chair. He figured they would allow him to float 100 or so feet up in the air so that he could visit with all his neighbors, who lived behind all those fences, while he floated along.
He got 30-40 weather balloons and filled them with helium. He tied them to his lawn chair. He went in the house and got another six-pack and a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and his BB gun. He took his supplies outside, sat down in the lawn chair that his friends were holding down, and said, “Let ‘er go!”
He didn’t go to only 100 feet in the air. He went to 11,000 feet. He shot straight up in the air. And, he couldn’t shoot out the balloons because he was afraid he would cause the chair to get off balance and he would fall out.
It happened that he floated straight up into the landing pattern of the L.A. Airport. A pilot of a DC-10 reported seeing a lawn chair float by. You can only imagine the control tower wanting to know how many six-packs the pilot had consumed.
Larry was holding on for dear life. Eventually, they sent helicopters up. They stopped all takeoffs and landings at the airport while they got this truck driver and his lawn chair down from 11,000 feet. When he was finally back on the ground, he was surrounded by a huge crowd. The police were there, the helicopter crew, the television crews, and all kinds of reporters.
One reporter stuck a microphone in his face and said, “Were you scared?” Larry said, “What kind of question is that? Wouldn’t you be scared if you were floating around in a lawn chair at 11,000 feet?”
Then the reporter asked, “Would you do it again?” Larry’s answer was a very strong, “NO!!!”
Finally the reporter asked him, “What in the world made you do it the first time?” And to that Larry Walters replied, “Well, you can’t just sit there.” Live life generously. Live life boldly.
LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY
Eccl. 11:7-8 – Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless.
Solomon says that it is a joy to experience another sunrise. None of us are guaranteed another sunrise. It should be a joy to be alive. He also says that we should enjoy life now - while we can. There will certainly come days which will not be so enjoyable so go after life with some passion and zeal. Do what you can while you can.
Eccl. 11:9-10 – 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. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.
Here is another instance where Solomon warns us not to just live life “under the sun” but with a view of what is “under heaven.” He encourages younger people to do whatever their heart desires. Don’t hold back. But he also says to remember one important thing: God will hold you accountable for what you have done with your life.
He also wants us to know that the years of our youth go quickly and we must not waste the opportunities they bring. However, this is not just a warning to young people. Young people tend to go to one extreme – not thinking about the consequences of their actions. But older folks tend toward the other extreme – to play it safe; to lead comfortable and predictable lives.
Solomon says, “It’s great to be young, but no matter what age you are, give yourselves wholeheartedly to life’s endeavors.” 1 Cor. 10:31 – “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Those of us who are older, please don’t become a “dust collector.” Don’t just sit around. Get active for the Lord. Don’t let fear or pessimism take you out of the game. Cast your bread upon the waters. Young or old, give yourselves unreservedly and enthusiastically to the service of your Lord.
Preacher Matt Woodley shares an experience from his own life:
In the summer of my 11th year of life, I learned the power and joy of surrender. It happened in Minnesota
at the Edina community swimming pool high dive. For five summers I had watched—in admiration and
terror—the big kids climb 35 steps into thin air, walk a long concrete diving board, and then jump into the
cool water below. For a few agonizing seconds they disappeared in the deep end only to reemerge alive and
whole, beaming with delight.
I had long avoided the high dive. I wouldn’t even come close to the deep end. But when my buddies—and
even some girls—started plunging off the high dive, I knew I had to save face. Being uncool was worse than
plunging to my certain death.
On a humid day in July, with my stomach reeling and my knees wobbling, I climbed the 35 steps into thin
air. As I walked out on the plank, everything within me said, You fool, turn around and climb back down.
You can still live! But when I started to backpedal and looked over my shoulder, I saw the line of friends,
older kids, and girls chuckling. I knew I must jump.
Creeping to the edge of the plank, I looked over the edge, and I finally let go and jumped. Down I
plunged, hitting the water like a stone, sinking lower and lower into my watery grave. So this is how they die,
I thought. Some people hit the water and never come back up. They get sucked through a grate at the bottom
of the pool and turned into chlorine. But then—surprise! I came up again, and I was alive! I was wet and
dazed but utterly alive! I was not only alive, but transformed, liberated, and renewed. I shook my head of wet
hair and laughed. I had let go of everything and lived to tell about it. I was more alive than ever. I had tasted
the joy of surrender.
CLOSE
Once upon a time in a country far away, there lived a band of minstrels. They travelled from town to town performing their music to make a living. The country had fallen on difficult times. There was little money for the common folk to come hear the minstrels perform.
One day before a scheduled performance in a certain town, the minstrels met together to discuss their situation. One of the minstrels said, “I don’t see any point in going on with our performance tonight. Not only can the townspeople not afford to pay to hear our performance, it’s also starting to snow. How many folks do you think we’ll have?”
Another of the minstrels spoke up, “I agree. Last night we performed for just a handful of people. I bet we’ll have even less tonight. Why don’t we just give back what little money we’ve already collected and cancel the concert?”
Still another minstrel said, “How can anyone expect us to do our best for so few people?”
The oldest member of the group was also the group’s leader. He looked at the minstrel troupe and said, “Look, I know you’re discouraged. I am too. But we have a responsibility to anyone who might come. We will go on with the performance tonight and we will do the best job we can. It isn’t the fault of those who do come that others do not. They shouldn’t be punished because we give less than our best.”
The group was inspired by their leader’s pep talk. That night, they gave the best performance ever. When the small audience left, the leader called his minstrels together. In his hand he held a note handed to him by one of the audience.
“Guys, listen to this!” There was a spark of excitement in his voice. They all gathered around to hear what the note had to say. Slowly, the minstrel leader read: “Thank you for a beautiful performance.” And it was simply signed, “Your King.”
Do you want to live life to the fullest? You can’t do that without pleasing the King of kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. If you’ll live each moment of each day with the desire to do your best for the One who gave His all, you’ll find abundant life here and eternal life in heaven.
