FRIDAY, MAY 20,2022 - SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS

FRIDAY, MAY 20,2022 - SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS

Okay, a scripture I have trouble with - Ecclesiastes chapter 1

“The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless.”  What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets and hurries back to where it rises.

“The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. 

“All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 

“Is there anything in which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago;  it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

“Wisdom Is Meaningless

“I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, chasing after the wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

“I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much wisdom and knowledge.” I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is chasing after the wind.

“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”

*****

WOW - King Solomon must have been having a bad day when he wrote this.  Everything is utterly meaningless. Other translations say “useless”, and “vanities”.  

He says there is nothing new.  (Too bad he is not living in current times - with computers, artificial intelligence, media, space travel, and so much more).

Supposedly Solomon was the wisest man ever - but he fell from grace with God.  1 Kings 11:3 say “is said to have had a harem that included 700 wives and 300 concubines”.  (Aside - how did he even know all of his wives' names - let alone know them well - and know the children he had with each.  If he slept (aka “had sex”) with one woman a night, it would take about 2.5 years to be with each of his wives and concubines. 

The concept that Solomon, wise that he was, because of his many wives (from many lands), did allow his wives to worship as they saw fit.  Thus, he allowed other gods into the land of the Hebrews - the land chosen by the real “GOD”.  (Or, the God of the Old and New Testaments - that I have accepted).

But, is life meaningless?  Until I retired, I got up, went to work, did what I was expected to do, returned home, and went back the next day to do largely the same thing. That sounds somewhat meaningless.  I believe (I have to believe), that I planted some thinking “seeds” in students’ minds - that those students would have families and would plant “seeds” in the people they worked with.  I know that some of my teachings reflected my teachers.  Maybe there was a synthesis. Maybe something got transformed.  Maybe as I keep writing and talking that LOVE WINS becomes more real.  (And, of course, “love wins” is not original with me!!!).

I believe (hope) in some experience after this life.  I have no idea what it really is.  We call it “heaven”.  John describes what he saw in the book of Revelation.  Sometimes it seems like John must have been on some mind-bending drugs as he sees beings with multiple heads, with wings.  I’m content to say “Whatever heaven is like, it's going to be different than the Earth.”

*****

Somewhat in line with Solomon today.  This last week, I got caught in my own value - my EGO.  I remember a bumper sticker that said “I used to be cool”.   I used to be a professor, and I used to have fantastic students.

Yes, I want ALL my friends to go to Walburg this weekend; Yes, I want ALL my friends to go to the Central Texas Symphony concert in two weeks.  No granny basketball players have ever been to my concerts.  (Okay Karen, that’s your ego talking.  If they know about the events and never go, that’s okay - they have their lives!!!)

Bumping into reality, now I’m an older person - learning to be humble (What does the Lord expect of you, but to love justice, show mercy, and walk humbly with God).  I needed to be dropped back into the learning “humility” class this week.  (And, my lesson was “No, the world does NOT revolve around YOU, Karen!!!”)

Can I leave the world a better place?  I think so.  I call out - LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  I say “no hate”.  

Yes, I believe that LOVE WINS!!!

Karen