Ecclesiastes 1:8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
A new day dawns my Friends, and with it new hope bubbles forth. Just like the brilliant morning sun, our hopes and expectations rise, praying for a better today than yesterday, and an even better tomorrow. Now, since yesterday with all its fears and sorrows is behind us, and no one knows if we’ll live to see tomorrow, that means today is the only concrete thing we have. So let’s just concentrate on today, make the most of it, do the best we can in Jesus’ name. That’s difficult enough to do without being broken up over yesterday and solemnly contemplating tomorrow. For as the Preacher says: ‘All things are full of labour.’ And that’s an undisputable fact my brethren! Everything on this earth is wearisome, tiresome and energy depleting, cause whatever we do means physical movement, and often a lot of mental strain too. That I can vouch for right now, because there was an interesting quote I wanted to use, so I went looking for a suitable bit, but there were so many to choose from that after a while I got confused and cross-eyed, thus the decision to postpone the use of that quote. I can only rationalize that the Lord didn’t want me to use that particular quote today, but the mental labour surely got the ole fella’s brain somewhat tired and listless. I immediately had to change my focus and find another idea to write on, which isn’t an easy feat to do in mid stream. However, at times it’s necessary, and hopefully, with God’s help, we move on and yet do a good job. But our world is certainly a busy place, so busy that the Preacher says ‘man cannot utter it.’ We can’t fully comprehend, therefore competently express the busyness and fullness of life around us. But if the Preacher thought that of his day, can you imagine his consternation at the constant coming and going, the continuous hustle and bustle, the never ending, 24/7 work and movement that characterizes our society? And when he goes on to claim; ‘the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing…’ Hn! He doesn’t know the half of it. If it was bad in his time, just picture it now, with so many pretty baubles, so much eye candy available to tempt us and the constant harangue we get to make them ours. As Sol says in Proverbs: ‘Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.’ (Prov.27:20) We can all see the greedy, want it all, gimme gimme, ‘gravalicious’, got to have everything and keep up with the Jones’ society that we’ve become, driven by the deluge of new technology and the strong push of the business community, who are only interested in making greater profits. We’re so surrounded and brainwashed that we mortgage our souls to the banks, the credit card companies and indirectly Lucifer. Then when we can’t pay, we lose it all. The same goes for a society that’s in debt over its head; when the piper calls for payment and there isn’t sufficient, the economy crumbles, as recently happened. That’s because its foundation was sinking sand and its builders, greed and avarice. And the preacher expounds more on his theory. ‘There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour and bereave (deprive) my soul of good? This also is vanity (futility), yea, it is a sore travail (evil task). (Eccl.4: 8) Yes my people, even when we have no family, we still keep working hard to amass worldly riches. And as the Psalmist puts it: ‘Surely every man walketh in a vain show (as a shadow); surely they are disquieted in vain (make an uproar for nothing): he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.’ (Ps.39:6) And that’s no lie, for a lot of the hatred, resentment and anger in our world today is based directly on disagreement over inherited wealth. The Preacher also disliked toiling to amass wealth, ‘because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.’ (Eccl.2:18-20) And isn’t that the living truth! We never know who’ll eventually inherit our earthly riches; whether they are foolish or wise, so it doesn’t make sense to kill ourselves over work. Oh Friends, it’s our duty to work diligently and also enjoy the fruits of our labour, but as in so many things, it’s our motive that makes it right or wrong. Amassing wealth for wealth’s sake is wrong. It’s vanity, futility, foolish self-indulgence. Running to get every new toy is also foolish, especially if we can’t really afford it. The things of this world should not control us, we should control them. As John writes: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17) Yes my people, that says it all. So let’s take those words to heart and stop being led by the world and it’s sinful, evil lusts. Much LOVE!…not everything we see or hear… is good for us…or we must have…
A new day dawns my Friends, and with it new hope bubbles forth. Just like the brilliant morning sun, our hopes and expectations rise, praying for a better today than yesterday, and an even better tomorrow. Now, since yesterday with all its fears and sorrows is behind us, and no one knows if we’ll live to see tomorrow, that means today is the only concrete thing we have. So let’s just concentrate on today, make the most of it, do the best we can in Jesus’ name. That’s difficult enough to do without being broken up over yesterday and solemnly contemplating tomorrow. For as the Preacher says: ‘All things are full of labour.’ And that’s an undisputable fact my brethren! Everything on this earth is wearisome, tiresome and energy depleting, cause whatever we do means physical movement, and often a lot of mental strain too. That I can vouch for right now, because there was an interesting quote I wanted to use, so I went looking for a suitable bit, but there were so many to choose from that after a while I got confused and cross-eyed, thus the decision to postpone the use of that quote. I can only rationalize that the Lord didn’t want me to use that particular quote today, but the mental labour surely got the ole fella’s brain somewhat tired and listless. I immediately had to change my focus and find another idea to write on, which isn’t an easy feat to do in mid stream. However, at times it’s necessary, and hopefully, with God’s help, we move on and yet do a good job. But our world is certainly a busy place, so busy that the Preacher says ‘man cannot utter it.’ We can’t fully comprehend, therefore competently express the busyness and fullness of life around us. But if the Preacher thought that of his day, can you imagine his consternation at the constant coming and going, the continuous hustle and bustle, the never ending, 24/7 work and movement that characterizes our society? And when he goes on to claim; ‘the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing…’ Hn! He doesn’t know the half of it. If it was bad in his time, just picture it now, with so many pretty baubles, so much eye candy available to tempt us and the constant harangue we get to make them ours. As Sol says in Proverbs: ‘Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.’ (Prov.27:20) We can all see the greedy, want it all, gimme gimme, ‘gravalicious’, got to have everything and keep up with the Jones’ society that we’ve become, driven by the deluge of new technology and the strong push of the business community, who are only interested in making greater profits. We’re so surrounded and brainwashed that we mortgage our souls to the banks, the credit card companies and indirectly Lucifer. Then when we can’t pay, we lose it all. The same goes for a society that’s in debt over its head; when the piper calls for payment and there isn’t sufficient, the economy crumbles, as recently happened. That’s because its foundation was sinking sand and its builders, greed and avarice. And the preacher expounds more on his theory. ‘There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour and bereave (deprive) my soul of good? This also is vanity (futility), yea, it is a sore travail (evil task). (Eccl.4: 8) Yes my people, even when we have no family, we still keep working hard to amass worldly riches. And as the Psalmist puts it: ‘Surely every man walketh in a vain show (as a shadow); surely they are disquieted in vain (make an uproar for nothing): he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.’ (Ps.39:6) And that’s no lie, for a lot of the hatred, resentment and anger in our world today is based directly on disagreement over inherited wealth. The Preacher also disliked toiling to amass wealth, ‘because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.’ (Eccl.2:18-20) And isn’t that the living truth! We never know who’ll eventually inherit our earthly riches; whether they are foolish or wise, so it doesn’t make sense to kill ourselves over work. Oh Friends, it’s our duty to work diligently and also enjoy the fruits of our labour, but as in so many things, it’s our motive that makes it right or wrong. Amassing wealth for wealth’s sake is wrong. It’s vanity, futility, foolish self-indulgence. Running to get every new toy is also foolish, especially if we can’t really afford it. The things of this world should not control us, we should control them. As John writes: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17) Yes my people, that says it all. So let’s take those words to heart and stop being led by the world and it’s sinful, evil lusts. Much LOVE!…not everything we see or hear… is good for us…or we must have…
SCRIP-BITS 