Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
"7 Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going."
This section of verses in my opinion is the consummate summation of the entire book of Ecclesiastes. There are a lot of lessons just in this small section of verses that I feel that I and we as a nation need and should learn. Now anyone who reads what I occasionally write on this blog will realize that I am not a fan of saying things that apply to our nation, I have a tendency to focus on the individual and the work that we are to do in our own lives. However lately due to being engaged with a book entitled “I Was in Prison,” a book on a United Methodist perspective of Prison Ministry. While I am still reading, thinking and praying on how I should be involved on prison ministry, I have found the call to be more mindful of the call to action on social issues to be a timely reminder for me.
In verse seven I have to address something that is a potential stress point for many Christians. “For God has already accepted your works.” KJV 9:1b. I know some people would take this to mean that God doesn’t care what you do, do whatever you want its all okay. That is not the purpose of this particular verse. The purpose in my opinion is to affirm Gods general approval of life, not an affirmation of certain behaviors good or bad. This harkens back to the beginning of the Genesis stories, where after God creates he gives the affirmation…it is good. This is an affirmation that life and being alive is something that God approves of.
Verse 8-10 can be summed up in two admonitions. The first one is enjoy your spouse, and the second one is enjoy the work that you do. Admittedly the first point says wife but especially today we need to remember that gender differentiation isn’t as important as the spirit of the message. Now this admonition is not an excuse to stay in an abusive relationship, it is a call for us to enjoy the time we have. Divorce rate is sky rocketing, and I have counseled several people who have gone through divorce and then attempt to work out their issues. I feel there is something to be said for an investment of time and enjoyment of what the couple has. Katie and I have now been together for ten years (that’s including dating) and there are still things that she does that drives me up the wall and I know (because I sometimes provoke her) that I do something’s that annoy her. The fact of the matter is we recognize that there are things we do together and we really enjoy it, everything from sharing a meal to intimacy.
Katie and I have both realized that when there is something wrong we have remembered what is good. In a culture in which divorce is cheap and it seems that some people give up on their relationships right when things get tough we need the reminder to enjoy the company of each other and not just trade out spouses.
The second admonition is that we are to enjoy the work we do. I take what I feel is kind of a primal enjoyment out of doing work, both physical and mental. This primal experience for me is independent from what work I am doing. What I mean by this is that even if it’s a job that I don’t like there is an enjoyment and satisfaction that come from completing that job. I feel this is an important concept to remember in our society when we deal with job losses and getting a new job. Something that each of us need to remember is that no matter what we do as a job we need to do it as well as we can and enjoy what we can.
I am a fan of the TV show “Dirty Jobs” and one thing that I notice consistently is that the people doing the “Dirty Jobs” they love what they do. They take an enjoyment from their job and the completion of that job. Too many of us forget that. For instance I’ve met a number of ministers that hate what they do and forget the beautiful things that happen. I’ll admit sometimes that happens to me. But these verses, remind us of the beauty of work. The approval of God, the beauty of relationships, and the beauty of work are what we are to remember in our lives today and all the more important in our society.
"7 Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going."
This section of verses in my opinion is the consummate summation of the entire book of Ecclesiastes. There are a lot of lessons just in this small section of verses that I feel that I and we as a nation need and should learn. Now anyone who reads what I occasionally write on this blog will realize that I am not a fan of saying things that apply to our nation, I have a tendency to focus on the individual and the work that we are to do in our own lives. However lately due to being engaged with a book entitled “I Was in Prison,” a book on a United Methodist perspective of Prison Ministry. While I am still reading, thinking and praying on how I should be involved on prison ministry, I have found the call to be more mindful of the call to action on social issues to be a timely reminder for me.
In verse seven I have to address something that is a potential stress point for many Christians. “For God has already accepted your works.” KJV 9:1b. I know some people would take this to mean that God doesn’t care what you do, do whatever you want its all okay. That is not the purpose of this particular verse. The purpose in my opinion is to affirm Gods general approval of life, not an affirmation of certain behaviors good or bad. This harkens back to the beginning of the Genesis stories, where after God creates he gives the affirmation…it is good. This is an affirmation that life and being alive is something that God approves of.
Verse 8-10 can be summed up in two admonitions. The first one is enjoy your spouse, and the second one is enjoy the work that you do. Admittedly the first point says wife but especially today we need to remember that gender differentiation isn’t as important as the spirit of the message. Now this admonition is not an excuse to stay in an abusive relationship, it is a call for us to enjoy the time we have. Divorce rate is sky rocketing, and I have counseled several people who have gone through divorce and then attempt to work out their issues. I feel there is something to be said for an investment of time and enjoyment of what the couple has. Katie and I have now been together for ten years (that’s including dating) and there are still things that she does that drives me up the wall and I know (because I sometimes provoke her) that I do something’s that annoy her. The fact of the matter is we recognize that there are things we do together and we really enjoy it, everything from sharing a meal to intimacy.
Katie and I have both realized that when there is something wrong we have remembered what is good. In a culture in which divorce is cheap and it seems that some people give up on their relationships right when things get tough we need the reminder to enjoy the company of each other and not just trade out spouses.
The second admonition is that we are to enjoy the work we do. I take what I feel is kind of a primal enjoyment out of doing work, both physical and mental. This primal experience for me is independent from what work I am doing. What I mean by this is that even if it’s a job that I don’t like there is an enjoyment and satisfaction that come from completing that job. I feel this is an important concept to remember in our society when we deal with job losses and getting a new job. Something that each of us need to remember is that no matter what we do as a job we need to do it as well as we can and enjoy what we can.
I am a fan of the TV show “Dirty Jobs” and one thing that I notice consistently is that the people doing the “Dirty Jobs” they love what they do. They take an enjoyment from their job and the completion of that job. Too many of us forget that. For instance I’ve met a number of ministers that hate what they do and forget the beautiful things that happen. I’ll admit sometimes that happens to me. But these verses, remind us of the beauty of work. The approval of God, the beauty of relationships, and the beauty of work are what we are to remember in our lives today and all the more important in our society.
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