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Don't Waste Your Life
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he rose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers came, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. The thing that has been, it is the thing which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after Ecclesiastes 1: 4-11 KJV.
I have experienced a lot in my life, but I know many people that have experienced a whole lot more. My experiences have been limited by the environment in which I was reared as well as how much I was able to mature and make decisions that enabled me to make the best of opportunities available to me. I can look back and say in all honesty that in comparison to what I could have done, I didn’t do well. I spent too many years holding too many fears, but at this point I can say that I’m focused. I know of no person that can say, “I tried it all”. But if there were such a person, that person would be Solomon. He had wealth, position, political power, and intellect above any person that ever was or ever will be. God also gave him wisdom, because his initial desire was to lead God’s people in the way that God wanted. At the time he made this request, in God’s eyes there was nothing greater that he could possibly want. So God granted him that desire. So often we lose what we started out with. We forget, and then we change. We no longer pursue God with that single mind and violent intensity that we started out with. We become something different; an incomplete shell of our former glory. After God granted Solomon wisdom, he had it from then on. Therefore his experiences were very important in shaping his world. He had more wisdom than anyone in the world, but he also went on unbelievable drinking binges. He was an architectural genius capable of designing incredible buildings, but he also pursued pleasure like there was no tomorrow. He was a statesman, horticulturalist; a man capable of making a nation so wealthy that silver became worthless, like a tin can. But he also redefined the office of womanhood and the institution of marriage, and made it something that God never intended for it to be. He had a lot and accomplished a lot. The wisdom of God helped him achieve it all. But he wasn’t able to retain any of it, and in the end his greatest achievements were as nothing. Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. How they got together is another whole story, but Solomon became king after David died. The supernatural wisdom given to him by God gave him the unlimited power to do good. He started out well, then he had a mid life crisis. He went on a search for the “meaning of life”. What was obvious in the in the beginning was no longer obvious anymore. Something changed, and it wasn’t God. Solomon’s experiences somehow led to personal issues, therefore he said in his heart, “If there is anything in life that will satisfy apart from God, I’m going to find it”. That became his personal experiment. It wasn’t enough to hear from the experiences of others, particularly his own father and the historical linage of his people. He couldn’t accept what others had to say about right and wrong; he had to know for himself. He concluded that all his experiences were vanity of vanities; a meaningless and futile pursuit into emptiness. He was right, but the first hand experience of this journey took its toll. He realized that he was wasting his life away. No relationship, no possession, no experience could fulfill the deepest craving of the soul. His journey lead him nowhere. Notice the phrase “Under the sun”. Not above the sun or beyond it. Just under it. In other words “on earth”. He looked nowhere but around him. And if we pursue life under the sun, it always leads to vanity. Any quest for answers apart from God only leads to more unanswered questions and deeper despair. King David told Solomon on his death bed, “Get to know the God of your ancestors. Worship Him with your whole heart. If you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you 1 Chronicles 28:9. David didn’t want Solomon to base his trust on his daddy’s faith, but to know God for himself. He wanted Solomon to get his own personal faith by consistently worshipping God out of a sincere heart and never forsaking His Word. In essence David said, “I’ve lived for God all my life, and I’m passing that on to you. Now you do it willingly, sincerely and completely”. But Solomon decided to check out a few alternatives, so he did what others can only dream about. He personally tried sex with all kinds of women; he drank all kinds of liquor; he partied and partied some more. Then he bought whatever he wanted and drove whatever vehicle he wanted. When he finished he did it all again. This was so different than when He started out. When he told God that he needed wisdom, the task at hand seemed so great. The responsibility was so much that Solomon felt overwhelmed. He needed God. I know how Solomon felt. I feel like that now as I write this article and press toward retirement. More often than not I’m reminded that I need wisdom. I already know that without Him I can do nothing. People come to me with problems and I don’t know the answers. Lord give me wisdom. Parental pressure gets to be a bit too much and sluggards on the job are making it difficult. Lord give me wisdom. “Any lacks wisdom, let him ask God; who giveth to all liberally and unbraideth not; and it will be given to him” James 1:5. Wisdom is a beautiful thing. People came from all over the world just to hear Solomon speak. They bought all his books, read his poetry and proverbs, and listened to his songs. Yes, he was a song writer too. He inspired people with his wisdom because wisdom covers all of life’s experiences. Even the Queen of Sheba confirmed that the “half had not been told”. As we all know, Solomon married a lot of different race women. I read that it was political; that he was attempting to establish political alliances. Whatever the reason was, he disregarded his wisdom in doing it. If you join together with someone, you need to be going in the same direction. Wisdom is a spiritual principle, and for it to work in life, we have to maintain a spiritual focus. Solomon lost the focus and couldn’t live by the wisdom. I don’t have to win the lottery to know that money won’t solve my problems or fill my deepest needs. I already know it. I already know that being rich and famous is no better life than nine to five. Therefore I won’t spend my life pursuing those things only to end up regretting it all. I refuse to waste my life like Solomon did.
By: Edmund Brown |