Ecclesiastes 7:1-29
Three Quick Lessons of Life
Have you ever asked or been asked these questions about life? Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? What’s the reason for my existence?
Solomon did. He pursued the meaning of life and chronicles them for us in Ecclesiastes.
Introduction – Life’s Lessons
1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."
I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 P.M., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..
It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away.. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins.
"I’ll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies..
You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4 - Fourth Important Lesson - The obstacle in Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed
a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I’ll do it if it will
save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.
He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her.
1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death (is better) than the day of one’s birth; 2 Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
Lesson # 1 - Death is Inevitable 1-6
Thomas Boston “In the day of his birth he was born to die but in the day of his death he dies to live.”
**Your name is the only thing of this world you take with you; it needs to be reputable! “The solemn duty of believers is to die well and this takes a lifetime of preparation.”
**Going to a funeral teaches us to be wise in the way we live & prepare to die. More wisdom is gained by going to one funeral than 100 parties.
** Words, wisdom & warnings are given to us by our true friends & we hear it, receive it & act upon it. Fools laugh & take things lightly, but they will grieve when the end comes. Luke 6:25
Live your life so the preacher won’t have to lie at your funeral. The following story is a testimony to both life and death.
Illustration
A decorated Green Beret leapt from the second-story of his burning home early Tuesday, wrapped himself in a blanket and ran back inside in an attempt to save his two young daughters.
Firefighters recovered the body of Chief Warrant Officer Edward Cantrell on the second floor of his North Carolina home, not far from the remains of 6-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Natalia.
"He never made it back out," said Debbie Tanna, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County sheriff’s office.
Cantrell’s wife and the girls’ mother, Louise, also jumped from the second floor. She was treated and released from a Fayetteville hospital for smoke inhalation. The family dog, a Rottweiler named Sasha, also survived the fire.
Cantrell was a special forces paratrooper who served six tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Friends and relatives gathered to recover what they could from burned-out house in Hope Mills, a small community about a 20-minute drive from the gates of Fort Bragg.
The house, which featured a broad front porch with tall columns, was built in 1920. Tanna said the old home’s timbers were likely very dry, causing a fast-moving blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A sign at the end of the driveway blocked with yellow police tape says "The Cantrells Est. Feb. 7, 2004." Bouquets of flowers and two teddy bears had been placed nearby.
Firefighters from Cotton Volunteer Fire Department, which is less than two miles away, were on the scene within four minutes of receiving the dispatch call. Assistant Chief Kevin Dove said the house was already engulfed in flames.
"They perished before our arrival," said Dove, a veteran firefighter. "It was horrible."
Cantrell, 36, was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. He held the rank of chief warrant officer 2, which authorized Cantrell to lead half of his 12-member Green Beret team if it was split up, said Lt. Col. April Olsen, a spokeswoman for Army Special Forces Command.
Records show Cantrell joined the Army in 1994, listing a home address in Plant City, Fla. He had one combat deployment to Iraq and five to Afghanistan, returning from the last mission in August, Olsen said.
His record included four Bronze Stars and one Purple Heart, awarded for wounds suffered in a war zone, Olsen said.
"There are no words to express the sorrow felt in our close-knit community when a family suffers such a tragedy," the command said on its Facebook page.
Family members declined interview requests, as did a soldier who served with Cantrell.
Isabella attended nearby Ed V. Baldwin Elementary School. Principal Todd Yardis said the girl’s teacher and a grief counselor broke the news of what happened to her classmates shortly after they arrived in the morning.
Yardis said both Cantrell parents had been very active at the school, with Edward Cantrell sometimes stopping by in his Army uniform. He recounted how excited the young girl was when her father returned home from his most recent tour of duty.
"Bella was a very happy, loving girl," Yardis said. "She was one of those students who would run up and hug you around the leg when you passed her class in the hall."
Yardis said Cantrell was a hero for trying to save his girls. The father had recently spoken about retiring from the service, rather than returning overseas and being separated from his family again.
"He talked about wanting to get out of the military and opening his own business," Yardis said. "He wanted to open a tattoo parlor."
Cindy Jacobs, who works at an assisted living home next door, said Louise Cantrell ran to the facility during the fire to get the staff to call 911. Jacobs said she knew the family, especially the mother, who would often stop to make small talk as she drove by. The two girls were often in the car or outside playing.
"She was with those girls all the time," said Jacobs, the executive director of the ARC of Hope Mills. "It’s so sad. I can’t imagine what she’s going through."
Jacobs said she learned Edward Cantrell was in the military when investigators visited to ask about him as part of the procedure for getting a top secret security clearance.
"We knew he was Special Forces," Jacobs said. "He was just a heck of a guy. Very, very friendly."
The girls were energetic children, said Jacobs, who has an active-duty son in the Navy and whose husband is a civilian employee at Fort Bragg. "They were just adorable little girls," she said. Source: The Associated Press.
7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, and a bribe debases the heart. 8 The end of a thing (end result) is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. 10 Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. 11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and profitable to those who see the sun. 12 For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. 13 Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him. 15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be overly righteous (legalistic), nor be overly wise (arrogant): Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other; for he who fears God will escape them all.
Lesson # 2 - Life is Inequitable 7-18
**There are “Life Lessons” in every trial you go through. Life is NOT fair! Θ wants you to learn from & trust in Him! Life is just unfair, unjust and undemocratic. You don’t get a vote!
**God is sovereign over all things in life. What He has made crooked, are you able to straighten? Can you change one thing from the past? Are you powerless to deal with issues out of your control? See Romans 8:28
**There will be both good & bad things happen in life. God is involved in both. He reveals 2 things: what you really believe about Him & who you really are in your character. How do you handle adversity? See Job 2:10
**The righteous suffer & the wicked prosper. Don’t be proud & self-righteous like the Pharisee’s. Know that you are sinful & only made righteous by the work of God. Also, unrighteousness is great danger in living a wickedly.
**Everything will be made right in the end…guaranteed! Adversity allows you to learn to depend upon God in those trials. It’s preparation for the world to come. Trials can convict us or correct us of sins.
19 Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city. 20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin. 21 Also do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 For many times, also, your own heart has known that even you have cursed others. 23 All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, "I will be wise"; But it was far from me. 24 As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, who can find it out? 25 I applied my heart to know, to search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, to know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness. 26 And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters. (Sadly, Solomon only knew of women who were manipulators) He who pleases God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall be trapped by her. 27 "Here is what I have found," says the Preacher, "Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, 28 which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found. 29 Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes."
Lesson #3 – Humanity is Intolerable 19-29
Everyone sins; even good people! Do you know of any sinless people?
People say foolish & senseless things; including you & me - Rashly spoken words are not easily taken back. And not just spoken words, but written words on FaceBook, Twitter, blogs and email can leave bruises, cuts and scars that never go away. A wise man responded to criticism by saying, “He didn’t insult me at all; in fact, he was talking about another man: the man he thought I was.”
Mankind is depraved. Original sin belongs to Adam and his people. That’s us folks!
