Enjoying What You Have

I was reading in the book of Ecclesiastes part of chapters 11 and 12, and I don’t know where else, this morning and what I read seemed to be very negative. I thought about the author of the book and I thought about all the wisdom he was given by the Lord. He was King David’s son and he was the wisest king that ever lived, his name was Solomon, but even with all that wisdom he had some flaws.
When it came to women, he seemed very foolish.

What caught my eye in these passages was that Solomon said we should enjoy what we have while we are young, before we get too old to enjoy it. Think about that for a moment, do you enjoy what you have? I think Solomon was including everything in what he said. I think that what he said would be the ideal thing to do and there is much wisdom in it. If we enjoyed the things we have we would be content. Materialism wouldn’t be a problem because we wouldn’t have to have everything that comes out new.

Think about all the things that you have now and how many of these things you really need or use. How can we be happy when our life is consumed with getting something new most of the time? Contentment and happiness don’t come from the things we own. When I think about it, it is like chasing after the wind that you can never catch. I have been around a long time and I am so guilty of this.
And what about the time we waste so often on the things we think we have to have. Think about motorcycles, cars and boats and I could go on and on. Many people buy things like these just to show off. I am not talking about the things we need, I am talking about the things we don’t need but we think we have we to have. Why have we bought into this craziness of thinking that we always need the new and popular thing that comes out? It seems like I could sit down and write a whole book on this subject.

Now think about this, many of the things that we buy we can’t afford so we put them on the credit card. When I think about all the people that have destroyed their lives because of credit card debt it makes me angry and sad. Think of the marriages that have been destroyed because of money problems. Their debt was so bad that it consumed most all their time thinking about it. Then the arguments and fights occurred and the marriage ended up a disaster.

Now think about all the time that is wasted on television, computers, video games and many more electronic things that we spend our money on. How many hours of trash have we filled our minds with over the years? It seems most people would rather text on their cell phones and chat on their facebook accounts then they would want to talk to someone on a personal level.

If you think about these things with an open mind you know that Solomon was right on. Solomon also said enjoy every minute of your life. Do everything you want to do, take it all in. His advice while you are young is to be happy and enjoy life. But then he throws in a warning saying, remember you must give an account to God for everything you do.

In chapter 12:1 he says, "So remember your Creator while you are still young, before those dismal days and years come when you will say I don’t enjoy life." Throwing "caution" to the wind isn’t a good idea. There is a verse in the Bible that goes something like this and I think Paul said it ~ All things are permissible but not all things are good. So whether we are young or old we need a healthy fear of the Lord. This is a quote from Reverend Bill Hayes, "the fear of God: A steadfast disposition that takes God extremely serious in every area of my life"

Then King Solomon in conclusion of all that he said in this book made this statement in chapter 12:11-13, "But my child be warned, there is no end to opinions ready to be expressed. Studying can go on forever and become very exhausting. Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey His commandments, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing whether good or bad."

So after all that you have read, what should your response be if you find yourself guilty of these sins? Repent and confess and ask the Lord to forgive you. Then try to do the best you can with the rest of your life so that you will honor the Lord. The Bible says in 1^st John 1:9, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness." I’ve got to go and ask the Lord to forgive me and help me to honor Him more with the rest of my life. Have a great day. God bless you!