Yes, I experienced a great deal of wisdom and knowledge; 17 yet when I applied myself to understanding wisdom and knowledge, as well as stupidity and folly, I came to see that this too was merely feeding on wind. Ecclesiastes 1:16-17
In reading Ecclesiastes and about wisdom, I had to stop and think to myself the point that King Solomon was making. Which is simply everything we do is w=for what reason? Without really thinking of it, these thoughts have been in my mind many times before. I look at my in-laws and see how lazy most are, they have nothing or very little, yet they survive. My mother and father in law are really that way, if not for the kids giving money or food to them, they would not eat. And yet they survive the same as me.
Many times in talking with a friend who is in construction and did the build on our condos, I told him we both have a place to lay our heads at night, and we both ate all we wanted. So what is the difference if mine is oceanfront and bigger and more fancy?
I also keep seeing posts similar to mine about how the new generation has to have it all today. Not with any discipline. They want the best home, best cars, best health insurance, best cell phones, starbucks daily, happy hour daily… And then they wonder why they cannot pay the bills. My wife and I live very frugally, older cars, which also keep our insurance cost down. We do not have health insurance (as explained many times why would we pay into their system for other people to use it when they do not eat right and take care of themselves. Plus we would never do as the doctor would tell us to do anyways, so why have it?) We do not do happy hour and go out to eat all the time. And when we travel we are on an economical budget. We do not need fancy hotels all inclusive.
So the point is what is it all for? That is the main thing Solomon is saying, why?
Solomon also makes the point of how God keeps us busy with things to do, we need those things actually. This has been posted before, but I live the lifestyle of the rich and famous on a beer budget, because of living in Mexico. But really the views, as spectacular as they are, the sound of the ocean. You can only handle it so many hours of the day and it gets boring. It is my place to meditate and listen to God which occupies a lot of time. But it gets old, and I find myself lazy. I have never been a lazy person, but now I am getting that way. It seems Solomon, as a King sitting around all day just being smart and full of wisdom. Got bored, he had nothing to do really physically speaking. The real estate business has picked back up some, but I am tired of dealing with the people who are getting sicker mentally it seems daily. I do not want to deal with them anymore, and see myself on the ranch working for that activity. I would make a lot more money selling and hiring a gardener to do the ranch. But it is not about money anymore like maybe it was at one time. In the past I always sold things and hired others to do the menial tasks for me, it made financial sense and still does actually. But financial sense and Spiritual sense or wisdom are not the same. When you start chasing the money instead of what is right, you lose out.
Another point the Lord made which is along the same lines as this is kind of the opposite. Which is what he is doing to me now. And that is to let me walk in the old ways for a while so I see how they are. And then he shows me his way and I see the difference and how much better his ways are. This is one of them, making good money and figuring out for what reason? It does not buy you love or happiness or even salvation. It can become a heavy weight also trying to figure out how to invest it, and worry if thieves or rust will destroy it.
But he let me go down that path and then he is showing me the next path to take. He did the same with religions, first catholic for many years, then many different denominations of christian. Almost all of them at one time or another. So I know what people believe with their doctrine, and I know what God teaches with his doctrine and how no doctrine can make you Holy. Not even the Lords. The purpose for the doctrine needing to be in Yeshua is because it pushes the truth to follow and makes it clear we need to receive the Holy Spirit because there is no other way than with the Lord and his Spirit to help us. The doctrine without the helper is useless. It can make you a better person, but you still will not enter into the Kingdom of God.
The main point of the message today is to stop and look at things, see what is happening and why? And if it seems crazy or not. Seek the Lord and his wisdom to show you this stuff. It is so easy to get caught up in this thing we call life, and get sucked into the plans of the evil one and do his will and suffer from it. And then wondering why because most of us see ourselves as “good people” and should not have to suffer like we do. But we do suffer because of our make up in the flesh, and bad decisions. We also do not see how our bad decisions affect others, not just ourselves. God holds us accountable for our actions (works) unlike many religions that teach the opposite. Did your works result in good for you and everyone else because they were done in the Spirit? Or did they affect others in a bad way?
As an example that I have used many times over, your health. My dad, Mom and uncle all thought they were good people. But all three had serious health issues which affected not only them but family who had to care for them, like me and my sister with my dad. He cost me work and time with my family, not much as I do not let it happen. But it costs time and money. But also it costs the health care system a lot of money, so it affects everyone who has health insurance. My uncle had to cost a bunch, but my mom and dad had to be in the millions of dollars. And why? Because they did not pay attention to the food they ate and chalked it off to just living and bad luck they were unhealthy, when it was their own fault.
The proof is with my dad, when he was still in Iowa after his stroke, for about 4 years. He still went to the hospital often, using many high cost drugs…. He was costing the system a lot of money, glad to not be a part of that system paying for the mistakes of other people who just do not care and abuse the system and themselves. Many years ago I warned my parents to change their eating habits, but they ignored it and said we like to eat this way. If they knew the Holy Spirit like I did instead of their catholic religion. They would know how God sees it and would know to change how they ate. But they refused that also. They saw the changes in me for the good, and I told them what God was doing in me, yet they liked their catholic religious ways more, thinking it is the right way to the Father.
I know, because as I am trying to say with all this. I also used to do it the wrong way, the catholic way. Thinking it was a good way. I also got fat and unhealthy at around 35 years old. BUT, here are the two differences. I changed my diet based on self study and it cured my health issues within a month and my weight came back to normal within that month. When you tell others how you did it, they just ignore it and ask the doctor for meds to fix their diabetes, it does not work, it masks it and creates other problems.
Just yesterday I saw an article where they took 2.3 million people and looked at how the drugs they were taking made them take others to offset the effects of the one before. They never get healed with drugs, it just masks things and makes it worse down the road. But keep in mind there is no money in helping people to get healthy, there is BIG TIME money in keeping them sick. Doctors are paid to give you the drugs of the drug companies, but if they were not allowed those kick backs and instead were paid to make you healthy, things would change quickly. And no more problems. Talk about an insane system?
Back to the point, the first one is how God allowed me to experience and then fix the same issues, so I know first hand what works and what does not work. And can tell people without a question of a doubt why they need to repent. Which brings me to the second and last point. Then you need to do as I did and repent.
No one is born perfect, we all make mistakes, and even then God allows certain issues or ways into your life so you do them wrong and then when he shows you how to do them right you know why, and again have the truth to tell others why they need to repent. Not like the medical system and keep doing the same things wrong and trying to fix it with a drug, or if speaking financially a $2,000 or $5,000 kick back from the government because you voted republican. The $5,000 might help short term, but it does not fix the real problem. To fix the real problem we all need to start working for ourselves, growing our own food, eat right and drop the health insurance. Stop buying things on payments where you can buy a bigger fancy home than you need and a more expensive car. And finance other things like furniture and appliances, electronics.
No, we must truly repent of wrong doing and mostly come to know the Lord and do things his way, which these are the things he will tell you to do in the end.