Day 8
Larry Trotter
Words of Love
There was a man all alone; he had neither
son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes
were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why
am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless—a miserable
business!
Ecclesiastes 4:8 NIV
Overcoming the Barrier
We’re going to
take a detour from Luke’s gospel today to get another perspective on isolation
as a barrier to the deeper life God plans for us. Ecclesiastes is considered
one of the wisdom books found in the Old Testament and is attributed to Solomon
in the first verse of chapter one. Most scholars think this is a literary
device to lend credibility to an unknown author. We’ll let others take up that
debate. The wisdom found in Ecclesiastes stands on its own merit, not to
mention found its way into a classic rock (rock to us baby boomers) standard by
the Byrds. If Ecclesiastes had a headline it would be, “Live Hard, Work Hard,
Life’s Short.” For those willing to do some digging there are nuggets of
practical wisdom throughout the book. The verse above sets the tone for a
longer passage speaking to the virtues of collaborative living. The man in the
verse apparently has no family or friends (all alone), spends all his time
working, and yet receives no satisfaction from the fruits of his labor
rendering his life “meaningless.” It’s a reminder that working and earning at
the expense of relationships has been going on since humankind left the Garden
of Eden. It’s a leading cause of self-inflicted isolation and is completely
preventable.
Jesus may have
had a similar scenario in mind when he said, “Do no worry about your life, what
you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:22, 34 NIV) His words were in
response to a man who was fighting with his brother over their inheritance. I
want to be careful not to make this about money, but instead about separating
ourselves from family and friends because of a lust for money and possessions. As
a pastor I have talked with many people who were dealing with the collateral
damage of a life lived for money at the expense of the people who were most important
to them. It’s hard to see when we’re trying to make our way in the world. That’s
why turning to Jesus for perspective is crucial. As the old saying goes, no one
ever lies on their death bed and wishes they had worked more and spent less
time with their family. Compensation is little consolation for isolation. Yes?
Prayer
God of life, give me the grace to see where
my ambition may be alienating me from my family and friends. In Jesus’ name,
amen.
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