Make Sure It Counts

August 13, 2007 by admin.

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:18-26

My time here is almost up. It’s down to the last day. My time getting to proclaim God’s Word in front of you is down to about twenty minutes. Knowing that while preparing for today, it got me thinking, if I only had twenty minutes to live, twenty minutes to talk to someone before I departed from this world, what would I say? If I was a soldier coming off a battlefield having a potentially fatal wound treated or a survivor hanging on by thread after a pile-up on the interstate, what would I say to the paramedic as he or she is trying to keep me coherent.

I know what you’re thinking: “Vicar, we’ve heard you preach for a year now and there’s no way you could say whatever it is you want to say to them in under twenty minutes.” And perhaps you’d be right. But humor me this one time. Knowing myself, I think there’s probably a good chance I’d try to echo the words of King Solomon from today’s sermon lesson. All of our readings for today deal with perspective. Our Old Testament lesson in particular, from the book of Ecclesiastes, teaches us the attitude, the perspective we need to have as we approach life in order to make it worthwhile.

My time here at Messiah has flown by. I’m sure many of you could say the same thing about your life. Your marriage: twenty years, maybe fifty years already, just like that. Your job: twenty, thirty, forty years, you’re almost ready to retire. Your kids: already leaving the house to go away to school. Where did the time go? Your life: seventy, eighty, ninety years. It goes by quick. When we look at our lives in retrospect, we understand Solomon’s wisdom from our lesson today when he encourages us to

“Make Sure it Counts”

We take the author to the book of Ecclesiastes, from which we get our sermon lesson today, to be King Solomon. He doesn’t expressly say it is him, but historically this is the way it has been taken since the author identifies himself as “the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” He also has the persona of someone of unrivaled knowledge, wealth, and experience. All things considered, it seems pretty clear that this is Solomon, at the end of his life, looking back over his entire life experience and claiming that traditional paths to happiness are meaningless.

You just have to have a tiny understanding of Solomon’s life to understand his words in Ecclesiastes. King Solomon started his reign as a faithful man – so faithful that God granted him any wish he desired. Solomon pleased the Lord by requesting wisdom, and the Lord consequently gave him countless other blessings. But wisdom doesn’t equate to great faith. Solomon began to love God’s creation more than the Creator. He oppressed his citizens with taxes to make a more beautiful palace for himself. He took a thousand wives to satisfy his lustful cravings, and not just Israelite women, but foreign women – the forbidden fruit. To be a popular king with his people and his many wives, Solomon established much idol worship in Israel. As time went on, Solomon began to see his kingdom deteriorate and his life fall apart. Due to the unjust taxes, the people in the northern portion of Israel started to rebel under their labor leader and eventual king, Jeroboam. Solomon saw how bratty and ungodly his kids were turning out to be, including Rehoboam, the one who was supposed to succeed him as leader of God’s chosen people. With a thousand wives pulling him in a thousand directions, Solomon became worn out. And it appears that at the end of his life, Solomon began to return to his spiritually wise ways.

Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes we find the brutal honesty of a man who has been scorned by the “finer things” that life has to offer. And you know what he said about these exorbitant riches, these gorgeous women, this decadent food and clothes, the unprecedented palace, and who knows how many servants to do any unpleasant work for him? He says it’s all “meaningless.” “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (1:2) Fascinating, right? The guy who literally had everything that the world could possibly offer, but lost God, said the world without God is meaningless.

Solomon, here at the end of life becomes disenchanted by the wickedness of the world, including his own. People are oppressed without hope of relief (Ecclesiastes 4:1), the wicked flourish while the righteous perish (7:15), and noble acts are too soon forgotten (9:15). This sinful world is “meaningless.” The word Solomon uses in the Hebrew which translates as “meaningless” is the word הֲבֵל (hevel). Hevel – it’s interesting that this is the exact word that Adam and Eve used to name their second child, Abel. It’s as though Adam and Eve were commenting on the world after their fall into sin. Locked out of the paradise they once knew, Adam and Eve said that in comparison, this new sinful world was worthless, it was horrible, it was “meaningless.”

Solomon had poured so much time and energy into attaining the things of this world because he thought that’s what life was all about. He thought that would make him happy. He was so wise and he worked so hard that he got it all. And he became miserable. He explains why: “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.”

Solomon looked at all he had done in terms of earthly accomplishment and he wasn’t impressed. He knew that the kingdom that he had worked to make the most extraordinary on the planet was eventually going to be given over into the hands of his son, who wasn’t suited for the task. All would eventually be lost.

Solomon was realizing that he couldn’t take all of that worldly accumulation anywhere with him. Eventually he would die just like everyone else and those riches would be left behind. Think of how foolish many of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt look now. They were buried with millions upon millions of dollars of precious stones and gold, even slaves. And for what? So that they could look like fools when all of these items were stolen from their tombs years later? You can’t take it with you – a lesson that Solomon in all his wisdom had been blinded to for much of his adult life.

Lastly, Solomon’s rediscovered spiritual discernment led him to the conclusion that his unrivaled earthly prosperity really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. In exchange for a momentary thrill, it brought grief and enemies. This past week Barry Bonds broke the record for most career home runs, surpassing baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. Think about all the camps he went to as a kid, the year-round leagues, hitting 500 balls a night in the batting cages, the time away from family and friends. It undoubtedly took a tremendous amount of dedication. It was his whole life’s work. Was it all worth it? As he raised his arms in victory after launching his 756th career home run, at the pinnacle of his career, the defining moment, most of the sports fan world will see this as a record with an asterisk by it due to the performance enhancing drugs he’s taken. He’ll be remembered as one of the biggest “cheaters” in modern day major league baseball. And the day after, commentators were already speculating as to how many active players have a good chance of reaching his record. Eventually, probably sooner than later, Barry Bond’s career, his training, his record-breaking home run will become “meaningless.” And the guy who had everything will realize how little it all meant.

Life is so quick that we need to make the most of it. We spend too much of our time “chasing after the wind” as Solomon says. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). He pictures our life as walking out into a cold morning, where you can see the vapor of your breath, but then as quickly as it seems to take form, it vanishes. While we’re here on this earth, we need to have our priorities straight. In life, we need to “Make Sure It Counts”.

After Solomon’s long, indulgent, yet arduous road of life, he came to the spiritual conclusion that the only way anything in this world ever means anything, is if one views life through the eyes of faith and a love for God. He says, “for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” (2:26)

“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.” The only reason that anything means anything, the only way we will find true peace and happiness in this world, is if we know our Savior from sins, Jesus Christ. In him we find purpose. In him we can deal with the problems that come our way. Through him we keep the blessings of life in perspective. True joy in this world is knowing that the things of this world are indeed “meaningless” compared to the paradise which Christ has won for us. Jesus said he came “that we may have life, and have it to the full!” (John 10:10). God wants you to take satisfaction in your work, knowing that you are pleasing him by using your talents faithfully. God wants you to enjoy the food set on your table, knowing how he provides for your every need richly and daily. God wants you to take pleasure in your family vacation, recognizing not only the beauty of his institution of family, but how he has blessed you not just by meeting your needs, but with abundance.

God wants to see his children happy. But he knows they will never, ever be happier than when they are with him in heaven, so he allows whatever is necessary to best prepare them for eternal happiness. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what the Lord has in store for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9) It’s one of my favorite passages and it’s all about having an eternal perspective. Understand how your day to day life corresponds to your eternity. Jesus Christ has given us purpose. The wisest as well as one of the most prosperous men who ever walked the planet said that apart from Christ, everything is meaningless. Jesus has made things meaningful. We now do all things in this life to spread the message of him who has redeemed us from our sins, that we may have purpose, that we may find fulfillment.

The Apostle Paul said, “The glory that is yet to be revealed in us is not worth comparing to the greatest mansion built by the richest and most industrious human.” (Romans 8:18) He probably had King Solomon in mind as he wrote this. What glory God has in store for us! Anticipating that glory, we eagerly, excitedly, joyfully carry out our mission here on earth. That mission does not involve material things. It does not involve trophies or accolades. It does not involve the items valued by a world in which we consider ourselves foreigners. Our mission involves our obedience to God’s commands, our love and service to his church, and above all, our appreciation for his free and full forgiveness, which we will share the knowledge of with this world. This alone matters. This alone grants purpose. If the troubles of your day do not involve these, no longer consider them troubles. They are God’s hand in your life, grabbing you, pulling you closer to him for eternity.

If I knew this were the last time I’d ever communicate with you, I’d say, “Thank you. I love you for being fellow children of God. And I love you for treating me as such.” I hope if you’ve gained any spiritual insight from me this year it’s to maintain an eternal perspective on life. Make Sure This Life Truly Counts. I look forward to seeing you all again, and who knows, eternity may be the next place I see you. I encourage both of us to not get bogged down by this sinful world, because Christ has overcome this world and overcome our sin. He has given us life and he therefore is our life. So if I were to breathe my last breath and utter my last words before you right now, I’d probably choose not my own words, but those of a hymn writer much more eloquent than I, and say,

“What is the world to me! My Jesus is my treasure,
My life, my health, my wealth, My friend, my love, my pleasure
My joy, my crown, my all, My bliss eternally.
Once more then I declare: What is the world to me!”

Amen.

–Vicar James Hein

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