Apples of Gold

Practically from the time we are old enough to communicate verbally we are bombarded with the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” When we hit our high school years the question shifts to: “Where are you going to go to college?”: followed immediately by: “What are you going to study?” Perhaps this is the root of our fixation on the future. Even today, as an adult over 50, I find myself frequently wondering what comes next.  Don’t get me wrong, planning for our future is wise, but spending too much time trying to live there can trip us up.

King Solomon, the wisest man ever, contemplates this throughout the book of Ecclesiastes:

So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless-like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. Ecclesiastes 2:9-11

If the smartest, richest, very powerful king, who could have anything his heart desired found himself searching for the meaning of life, we will at one time or another find ourselves contemplating our journey as well. 

We expend a whole lot of time and energy on making a name for ourselves, accumulating enough resources to live comfortable lives-the pursuit of pleasure.

I said to myself, Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the good things in life. But I found that this, too, was meaningless. Ecclesiastes 2:1

Chasing the wind, pursuing futility, how much of our energy is expended on things that, in light of eternity, are useless and meaningless? Far too much I’m afraid. We are endlessly chasing after just a little bit more. Solomon’s question is why? Just what are we trying to accomplish? We are often trying to climb up the next step, stick out in the crowd, position ourselves in the right spot-whatever that is. 

I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. Ecclesiastes 9:11

I have been in the right place at the wrong time, and the wrong place at the right time, but getting the two in sync seems allusive. When this happens, I can trust God, or I can pout. Well, honestly, sometimes I pout for a minute or two and then remind myself who really is in control of all this.

So we might as well sit at home on the couch, binge-watching our favorite sit-com, with an overflowing tub of our current palate pleasing ice cream and just let life happen. We all have days where this sounds like a very acceptable approach. Life often doesn’t seem fair. The coveted promotion goes to someone undeserving, at least from our vantage point. The new car turns out to be a lemon. Our dream home turns out to be a nightmarish money-pit, and we wonder just what have we been putting in all this time and energy for? 

Thankfully, Solomon doesn’t leave us in this dreary land of hopelessness. He encourages us in chapter 12, to remember our Creator before we find ourselves in dire need of him. Our focus is so easily drawn to things that will not last, to things that don’t really matter in the big picture. Solomon’s contemplations brought him to the one thing that really matters, our relationship with God. 

I don’t want to waste my time and energy being a wind chaser. The important things can get endlessly buried under a mountain of urgent, but really unimportant things. If we can remind ourselves to pursue God and not ____ fill in the blank with whatever your wind is. 

A barely averted tragedy often reminds us of what is actually important in life. The clarity that is present in that moment often radically alters the priorities of those affected, at least temporarily. 

When we are surrounded by shiny distractions, and tempting detours, the words from an old hymn written by Helen Howarth Lemmel; serve as a needed reminder:

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul, are you weary and troubled? 

No light in the darkness you see? 

There’s light for look at the Savior,  

And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

His Word shall not fail you-He promised; 

Believe Him; and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying, 

His perfect salvation to tell!

When I grow up I want to be a dedicated follower of Jesus, with my eyes on him and an unquestioning, contented devotion to embracing his will for my life, holding nothing back from my God.

I don’t want to be a wind chaser. After all, what would I do with it if I actually caught it?