November 21, 2008 6:05 AM
Mac wrote:
I am not sure which Bible version you may be using. More than likely, the NIV. I also used the KJV as I knew there were some different terms used in that one, vice the NIV. Like, ‘chasing after the wind’ is ‘vexation of spirit’, and ‘vanity of vanities’ is used instead of “meaningless”. I ‘prefer’ the NIV in this book as I understand the terms a bit better. This chapter introduces us to a man clearly confused about life. He claims that everything he does is so insignificant in the big realm of things, it has no purpose, no meaning. This man seems to be one of severe depression and deep regrets about his life. Solomon, the author, as we know, was blessed by God with wisdom beyond any man, as well as similarly, riches. Yet, he claims this to be a curse of sorts. One who has some, always wants more. One who has knowledge, has more grief. Do not get discouraged by his ranting, as we will discover that HE discovers our true purpose here on earth and THAT is not meaningless or a vexation of spirit. So, with that in mind, let me quote someone who discusses wisdom. Someone who was born centuries after Mr. Solomon--- To quote Mr. Mark Twain, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." And one 'good book' that we CAN read, of course, is our Bible. If you are not reading it first thing in the morning, you, according to Mark (Twain, not the Gospel writer) anyway, you are no better off than folks who can't (because they don't believe in Christianity) read it. To quote Mark (the Gospel writer, not Twain), who quotes Jesus, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." I say, "If anyone has a Bible, let him read." Did you all read your Bible this morning? Did it confuse you? Was it meaningless? I hope not—if so, blog about it---I think this has helped me a lot over the past two years. When I read, I sometimes think it is meaningless, confusing, a vanity of vanities, so to speak. BUT, if I don’t read, it is DEFINITELY meaningless. Once you read, however, you need to put into practice what is being taught. God looks at us and wants to see us putting into practice what Jesus came and died for. Mark Twain put it very succinctly when he said, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." I say, "It’s not the amount of knowledge you get from your reading efforts, it’s the amount of effort you exert because of your knowledge." Our other Mark, not one of the original twelve disciples, but still someone worthy of quoting, said, "Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." Don't let God take away your knowledge because you don't use it for Him. Even though Solomon will be talking about wealth in more detail later on this book, this quote from Mark will seemingly contradict him. Hopefully when we get to that point we will have gained enough wisdom to fully understand what both great men are getting at. Reply to this
"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt", says Mark Twain. And this applies to us in our evangelism as well. If you don't know what it takes to be saved, for example, don't start a spiritual argument with one who thinks he does. You will appear a fool, even if he is wrong. HOWEVER, if you DO know what it takes to be saved, then, by all means, open your mouth and argue intelligently for God and peoples' salvation. Our Bible Mark tells us to "....hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." The words, 'accept it', does not mean to believe it blindly, but to truly understand it so you can believe it completely. So, our mission, as Jesus gave to each of us in Matthew 28:18-20, still stands....I say, "open your mouth with wisdom and knowledge and remove all doubt about how people are to be saved" Let’s prove Mr. Solomon wrong in his saying that, “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” (Later on, he proves himself wrong, anyway.) Let’s beat him to the punch(line). Reply to this
I am not sure which Bible version you may be using. More than likely, the NIV. I also used the KJV as I knew there were some different terms used in that one, vice the NIV. Like, ‘chasing after the wind’ is ‘vexation of spirit’, and ‘vanity of vanities’ is used instead of “meaningless”. I ‘prefer’ the NIV in this book as I understand the terms a bit better.
This chapter introduces us to a man clearly confused about life. He claims that everything he does is so insignificant in the big realm of things, it has no purpose, no meaning. This man seems to be one of severe depression and deep regrets about his life.
Solomon, the author, as we know, was blessed by God with wisdom beyond any man, as well as similarly, riches. Yet, he claims this to be a curse of sorts. One who has some, always wants more. One who has knowledge, has more grief.
Do not get discouraged by his ranting, as we will discover that HE discovers our true purpose here on earth and THAT is not meaningless or a vexation of spirit.
So, with that in mind, let me quote someone who discusses wisdom. Someone who was born centuries after Mr. Solomon--- To quote Mr. Mark Twain, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." And one 'good book' that we CAN read, of course, is our Bible. If you are not reading it first thing in the morning, you, according to Mark (Twain, not the Gospel writer) anyway, you are no better off than folks who can't (because they don't believe in Christianity) read it. To quote Mark (the Gospel writer, not Twain), who quotes Jesus, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." I say, "If anyone has a Bible, let him read." Did you all read your Bible this morning? Did it confuse you? Was it meaningless? I hope not—if so, blog about it---I think this has helped me a lot over the past two years. When I read, I sometimes think it is meaningless, confusing, a vanity of vanities, so to speak. BUT, if I don’t read, it is DEFINITELY meaningless.
Once you read, however, you need to put into practice what is being taught. God looks at us and wants to see us putting into practice what Jesus came and died for. Mark Twain put it very succinctly when he said, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." I say, "It’s not the amount of knowledge you get from your reading efforts, it’s the amount of effort you exert because of your knowledge." Our other Mark, not one of the original twelve disciples, but still someone worthy of quoting, said, "Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." Don't let God take away your knowledge because you don't use it for Him. Even though Solomon will be talking about wealth in more detail later on this book, this quote from Mark will seemingly contradict him. Hopefully when we get to that point we will have gained enough wisdom to fully understand what both great men are getting at.
Reply to this
Continued from above.....
"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt", says Mark Twain. And this applies to us in our evangelism as well. If you don't know what it takes to be saved, for example, don't start a spiritual argument with one who thinks he does. You will appear a fool, even if he is wrong. HOWEVER, if you DO know what it takes to be saved, then, by all means, open your mouth and argue intelligently for God and peoples' salvation. Our Bible Mark tells us to "....hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." The words, 'accept it', does not mean to believe it blindly, but to truly understand it so you can believe it completely. So, our mission, as Jesus gave to each of us in Matthew 28:18-20, still stands....I say, "open your mouth with wisdom and knowledge and remove all doubt about how people are to be saved"
Let’s prove Mr. Solomon wrong in his saying that, “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” (Later on, he proves himself wrong, anyway.) Let’s beat him to the punch(line).
Reply to this