Sharpening Your Body, Mind, Heart, Spirit & Soul
Everybody or almost everybody is reading, has read, or will read something that sharpens their behavior, challenges their ego, and strengthens their faith. Can you think of a book, essay, article, or poem—fiction or non-fiction—that made you rethink your actions and attitudes? For me, it was the rereading of Ecclesiastic in the Old Testament of The Holy Bible.
Ecclesiastic is the book of wisdom chocked with poetry, written by King Solomon, the wisest and richest king of his era. Solomon, the son of David, was known as a famous builder of the Temple and the palace in Jerusalem, author of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, many of the Proverbs and a few Psalms, diplomat, trader, collector and patron of the arts. He had many wives, his major sin against his Lord, God.
His lifestyle intrigued even Queen of Sheba, who traveled from Ethiopia or Arabia to Jerusalem to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Upon her arrival, she talked about everything that she cared about, “emptying her heart to him” (1 Kings 10:2). He answered all of her questions and hid nothing from her. The queen was not only satisfied with his wise words but also his actions and behaviors in his community. She said, “Solomon, in my own country, I had heard about your wisdom and all you’ve done. But I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes! And there’s so much I didn’t hear about. You are wiser and richer than I was told. Your wives and officials are blessed to be here where they can listen to the wise things you say. I praise the Lord your God. He is pleased with you and has made you the king of Israel. The Lord loves Israel, so he has given them a king who will rule fairly and honestly” (1 Kings 10:2).
How do you live a life with more understanding and less foolhardiness, based on your observations of the messiness and mysteries of life?
And in the reading of Ecclesiastes, like the queen, I expected Solomon, aka Quoheleth, teacher, to answer the cares of my heart: how to live a life with more understanding and less foolhardiness, based on his observations of the messiness and mysteries of life.
First, in the most famous chapter about “time and polarities of human activity,” Solomon illustrates how desirable and undesirable traits of humanity take place simultaneously. For example, during the 2020 pandemic, it’s time to heal racism and inequality, not continue to kill the bodies and spirits of black men and women. It’s time for peace if we’re the United States of America, not war against each other in attempts to flatten the virus with varying reopening and mask-wearing regulations. It’s time to love the one who first loved us, and loves each other, yet the times reflect a deep-seated hatred that continues to create foolish and harmful activity like stealing public school funds to fund private institutions. It’s time to speak up with mail-in votes and complete the census, so our voice and concerns do not remain silent. It’s time to mourn all things we’ve lost before COVID-19 and cheer on the “new” normal. Indeed, Quoheleth’s words are honest and dependable. What I call “real talk.”
Quoheleth caught my attention when thinking about indulgences. Because the teacher has indulged in a pleasurable lifestyle of food, drink, and merriment, he has both decided and recommended that “there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work…” (Eccles; 2:24a, 8:15a, 11:9a). Sometimes I can be too serious or over-indulgent; I work as hard as I play. Always seeking balance and harmony. However, in the second part of the verse, the teacher realized “These pleasures are from the hand of God; that way you will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives you under the sun, but remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do” (My adaptation from Eccles; 2:24b, 8:15b, 11:9b). Accountability to God keeps me in check. I’ve made several foolish mistakes and unwise choices, but it is because I seek God that he turns my foolhardiness into a lesson learned. Accountability to God sharpens my heart, mind, soul, and body. But I’ve learned not everyone who calls on the name of God is accountable to him, otherwise, we as a people would allow all people to enjoy the pleasures of life.
How long will we live in a time of profound pain and righteous rage for the tragic deaths like George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor?
Next, Solomon clearly tells me whether we, you and I, live a foolish or wise life, we do not know who God favors (9:1), it’s all in his hands. Therefore, all the activity under the sun is like a vapor, meaningless, useless, futile, especially when “the place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being” (Matthew 6:2).
Ironically, both the wise and the foolish have one thing in common, we all have the same destiny, “whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t. It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate… death” (9:2-3).
Despite who we are and the path we take, we are all going to die. How sad to know there are those who take the life of others into their own hands. I’m curious to see how the Lord God will deal with these people? In the words of the psalmist, How long will you Lord hide your face from us? (Psalm 13).
Until Next Time,
Stay safe. Wash your hands & trust God’s justice.
Angela
I particularly enjoyed this one. Time to re-read Ecclesiastes. Until the next time….
It’s amazing how we can walk through a stream twice and learn something new each time. Thank you for taking the time to read!