Are you wondering, “what is the meaning of life?” “Why am I here?” The end of Ecclesiastes will help us.
Solomon has taught us that we will not find meaning in life through education, pleasure, work, money or possessions. If we rearrange our priorities and find meaning in our relationship with God and His purposes, then life has meaning.
In America we have been so blessed, we have so much materially. Yet we are not happier. Polls and statistics reveal that as a nation we are not happy. We have a high rate of depression, drug abuse and suicide. We HAVE materially but not spiritually.
How to Gain Meaning in Life
- Enjoy Life but Know that I am Responsible for my Actions
…Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. Ecclesiastes 11:9
14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. Ecclesiastes 12:14
I need to hear this, maybe you do too. GOD WANTS US TO ENJOY LIFE. God wants us to enjoy life in a moral and healthy way. God created a good world, and He doesn’t want us to spoil our joy, so He’s given us some “rules for the journey.” He provides wisdom, purpose, and direction beyond our limited experience.
But, enjoyment of life doesn’t have to mean lawlessness. We often think of God as a killjoy. When we’re consumed to seek material things, or lust or power we think of these things as our supreme need and God as something we need in case of a bind, like a spare tire or jumper cables!
God wants only what is best for us. We have concern for those we love. We’re passionate about their well-being. This is how God loves us. He wants us to do right because He cares about our lives.. Author Peter Kreeft says, “the theme song of those who live for self is ‘I did it my way.’ People think that is Heaven, when in fact it’s the song people sing in Hell.” True joy comes from saying to God, “Your will be done.”
When we live with boundaries, we live with joy.
People (young, and old alike) live as though they’re never going to have to account for their actions. We answer to God. He wants us to enjoy life. We can’t enjoy life if we’re harming ourselves. Much of what people think is a “good time” is actually self-abuse. Drunkenness, drug abuse, illicit sex, etc. Solomon is calling us to a life of personal responsibility for our own good.
Why do we say, “youth is wasted on the young”? Because, however wild the younger generation may be, those who have some years on them know how they could act if they could only turn back the clock. Verse 9 says, “Do everything you want” the NIV says “Follow the ways of your heart.” In other words, do what your heart desires. Here’s the point, this is what we need to shoot for, if we desire God, our hearts will desire holiness.
2. Do the Right Things Now
Any procrastinators? That’s me, here’s our verse:
4 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. Ecclesiastes 11:4
A wonderful piece of wisdom! If we wait for everything to be perfect before we make a move, we will never do anything.
Most are guilty of saying—one of these days, or somewhere down the road. Solomon says, today is the first day of the rest of your life. God allows you to be involved in the process of life. So do the right things now. Don’t goof off then blame God that it is not going well.
1 Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living. Ecclesiastes 12:1
We don’t have all the time in the world. It may seem that way when we’re young, but life is brief.
Youth is the prime time to find God. Cultivating faith takes time. People can come to faith later in their life, but usually with considerable regret over a life wasted on things that didn’t matter.
We need to make the most of life before it’s too late. Solomon’s depiction of our mortality isn’t a threat, simply a reminder. Before the flame of life burns out we need to grasp the meaning of life, to know God, His will, and live with a sense of urgency. Some people who’ve reached their senior years admit they’ve missed the point of life, but (with regret) they’re unwilling to turn to God because it’s “too hard to change.” But it’s not too late. “forgetting your Creator” means we drop our self-sufficiency and commit our lives to Him. We surrender our plans and priorities to God.
- Solomon uses the word “BEFORE” 10 times in 5 verses. I need to do the right things “before” its too late.
ILLUSTRATION – Priorities & a jar[1]
A time management trainer: Put a Large pickle jar on the table and place rocks inside. And asked “Is the jar full?”
Some will say yes.
Then he took a bucket of gravel, dumped it in and shook the jar so the gravel sank in.
Then Asked: “Is the jar full?” “Probably not,”most should say.
“Good!” Then he took some sand and poured it in. “Now-full?” “No!”
Pour a pitcher of water into the jar. Now it was truly filled.
He asked: “What’s the point?”
Someone answered, “You may think your schedule’s full, but you can always fit something else into it!”
“NO!”. “It’s this: put in the big rocks (THESE ARE YOUR PRIORITIES) first GOD, spouse, family, or you’ll never fit every them in at all.”
Taken from Stephen Covey, First Things First, pp. 89 & 90
How Can I Do the Right Things NOW?
a. Evaluate What is Really Important
6 …Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:6-7
Don’t wait for the crisis. The problem is for so many people they don’t think about what’s most important until a crisis hits. It usually takes a crisis to get us to start thinking about the rest of our life. A bankruptcy. A divorce. A major illness. The death of a loved one. Then you start thinking: “Life is brief. Life is short. I better start trying to make the most of it.” Let’s do it now:
**List the three most important things in your life. ________, ______, ________ .
Did you put your children? Did you put your spouse? How does your time allotment match up with what is important to you? Do they get equal time? Dr. James Dobson has said and has written that he has known many men and no man says at the end of his life. Boy I wish I had spent more time at the office! No its I wish I had spent more time with my children and wife. Don’t wait for death or crises to do what you know is right. How many of you put God or your spiritual development? How does your time, your money back that up?
b. Be Ready for Distractions to Life’s Real Priorities
12 But, my child, be warned: There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting! Ecclesiastes 12:12
There are many things that compete for our attention. They distract us! Temptations, detours, the good becomes the enemy of the best! We fill our plates with activities and clog our schedule. Often we think that the solution is more time. “If I just had a few more hours in each day, then I’d get it all done.” God says, “No, you don’t need more time in your day.” I heard Rick Warren say this and it makes so much sense: I have just enough time to do God’s will.
God put you on this earth to do a certain number of things. God would not give you more things to do than He gives you the time to do it. God would not expect more of you and then not give you the time and energy to do it. If we’re not getting the important things done in our life, it means one of two things.
- We’re doing some things in our life that we shouldn’t be doing. We’re doing some things that God never intended us to do.
- We’re doing the right things, we’re just doing them the wrong way. We’re not being efficient, effective. We’re not managing your time wisely. We need to sharpen some skills. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 10:10 “if the ax is dull… more strength is needed but SKILL will bring success. (NIV) We need to work smarter not harder.
c. Schedule and Live My Priorities
4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed… Ecclesiastes 12:4
If we have a doctor’s appointment we put in on our schedule. If we have someone coming over to fix the ac or plumbing, we schedule it. Why? Because nothing happens until we schedule it. Nothing. We may say spending time with God is important. We may say spending time with your kids is important. We may say quality time with our spouse is important. We may say exercise or anything else is important, but if we don’t schedule it, it’s not really important. Scheduling is where the rubber hits the road. Nothing happens until we put it on our calendar.
3. Honor God and Live For Him
13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
This principle that Solomon and the rest of the bible teaches is this: whatever you put God first in, that area gets better. God says, “If you put Me first in your finances, I will make the rest of your money — the other ninety percent — go further than it would if you had kept the whole hundred percent to yourself selfishly.”
It’s the same thing with our time. God says “If you put Me first with your time, I will make the rest of your time stretch and go further than you thought possible.” We think, “I don’t have time to talk to God. I don’t have time for a Connect Group. I don’t have time to or to get His word in my life.” Then we wonder why we’re stressed and not close to God? On the other hand, if we say, “God, because You are my God and because the most important thing is knowing You, then I’m going to put You first in my time” and watch what He does with everything else. “33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33
Life is short and you’re not guaranteed a tomorrow, much less next week. We’re not guaranteed that the people in our life are going to be with you tomorrow or even next week. Whatever is important in life, whatever is the right thing to do, whatever you’re intending to do because you know that it’s the good thing to do, we should do it now. Don’t wait until your parents have died. Don’t wait until your kids have grown up. Don’t wait until your spouse’s heart has grown cold. Do it now.
Solutions to Life’s Biggest Complaints
- If I say, “Life has no meaning!” Solomon says I am living for the wrong things. When I honor God and follow His words I will find meaning and purpose. What am I living for?
- If I say, “Life is not Fair!” Solomon says, Life may not be fair but God is still in control. Just wait, God will bring justice to all. Are you ready to stand before God?
Every day we’re exchanging our life for something. JESUS says “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Our time is our life. Every time we invest our time for something, we’re exchanging our life. Some people are exchanging their life for television. Some people are exchanging their life for a little ball. Some people are exchanging their life for fame that isn’t going to last until five years from now. On and on. Every time you have an activity you ought to ask yourself, “Is this worth giving my life to it?” because that’s exactly what you’re doing when you give some of your time. Is it worth giving my life for? If we want to find time for the most important things in life, we need to give the best we have to the highest we know and you need to do it now.
The tragedy is some people go all through life and miss the most important thing. What is the most important thing in life? Love God, Love People, Share Jesus.
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[1] Taken from Stephen Covey, First Things First, pp. 89 & 90
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