Ecclesiastes 1:1-18
Everything is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is twisted cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I thought to myself, “Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
Philippians 2:1-11
Imitating Christ’s Humility
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Solomon, the Son of David, was very wealthy...Solomon was a king, and so was his father, David...I do not know if king Solomon had everything, but he had a lot of stuff...And He grew up with his father David as King...So Solomon had nice things that others would not have while growing up...And Solomon also was very wise...Yet, something was missing in life, as he wrote about everything being meaningless in the Book of Ecclesiastes...He wanted us to learn from his experiences and this Book...
What if you could have anything you wanted?...And you were really very smart...Imagine if you could have everything in the world...Would you want to be a king, like Solomon?...Would you want your father to be a king?...Would you choose success, fame, money, different relationships, mansions, second and third homes, vacations monthly, a new car every month, or all the above?...Would you choose a big family or no family at all?...Would you choose to have power, and power over others?...
What does having everything even mean?...And what kind of life would it be if you always did have everything and anything you wanted all the time?...Does having everything give life a new meaning?...Does it give life purpose?...Or does having everything make us lose our sense of thankfulness?...Does having many things make us question life even more?...
Now let us say, you personally did actually have the ability and wherewithal to get anything you want...And at anytime or all the time for that matter, -you could use your power to your own personal advantage...Would you choose to grow up poor?...Would you choose to do physical work with your hands?...Would you become a teacher?...Would you choose to do nothing out of your self ambition?...Would you choose to be so humble, some might overlook your power and greatness?...
If you had a Son or a child, and had everything you possible needed, would you give Him advantage over others?...Would you let Him grow up poor?...Would you send Him to the best school and educators?...Would you want Him to be considered a servant and call Himself a servant?...Would you want and even allow Him to be misunderstood by others and have Him die, and die a humiliating death on a cross?...When He was wronged, would you want Him to fight the ones who were going to kill Him?...
Normally fathers do anything and everything for their sons and children...But our Father allowed His Son to be born in a manger...Our Father did make His Son grow up poor...Our Father did allow His Son to be a Traveling Teacher...Our Father did allow His Son to be accused of blasphemy and be arrested...Our Father did make His Son not fight His opposition while being nailed to a cross...Our Father did not allow His Son to fight the Romans when they flogged Him...Our Father did allow His Son to die a tortuous death on the cross...
And after all of these things in His life -just how did this particular Son turn out...In the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth...Every tongue should acknowledge that Jesus Christ is LORD, and all the glory be to God the Father -for the way This Son was raised...
And what type of Father would allow all these things happen to His Son?...The answer is Our Father in Heaven...The answer is God...