Thoughts on Ecclesiastes

Was flipping through the Book of E today and picked up some verses I hadn't really noticed before.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
Eccl. 5:1

What does it mean to offer the sacrifice of fools?
What might be an instance of a believer being ignorant that he is doing wrong?

Suppose (just hypothetically) the music team stands in front of the congregation each Sunday, believing that they are leading the congregation to draw closer to God.
But they come with a can't-be-bothered attitude, rock up to practice late, are spiritually unprepared and distracted by their gadgets and social interests, walk out of service midway just because they are bored by the sermon...
And they have no idea they are doing anything wrong.
Nor do they welcome being told that their behavior is inappropriate.

Does this put them at risk of offering the sacrifice of fools?

Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?"
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
Eccl. 7:10

Every generation loves to talk about the good old days and to compare how things are now with how they were "in my time".
And every generation believes things were better in their time.
Modern life is too hectic, too stressful. We are plagued by diseases and disorders that were never heard of in our grandparents' time etc etc.
This looking back has been going on since (or before) King Solomon's time, so he has much wisdom to offer.
Why talk about the good old days when we could be doing something new, something better, something CONSTRUCTIVE, with the present?

Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
Eccl. 7:12

This is the first time I have heard money described as a shelter.
Which in a sense it is. (Think "tax haven". Similar metaphor?)
It clothes, it protects, it keeps out discomfort, it cloaks us with respectability and status.
Money has the potential to keep us in a comfortable place.
But it does not guarantee life or health or spiritual/emotional well-being.
Having said that, the rich man may have a better chance of getting life-saving treatment than the average man when faced with the same terminal illness.
And money can enable one to physically escape to safety, say as a refugee or asylum seeker.
So what does King Solomon mean when he says that wisdom preserves the life of the one who has it?
In what way is wealth unable to preserve and protect my life?
In what way is wisdom and knowledge able to preserve and protect my life?

Question To God: How Do I Teach My Child About You?

Okay God, I get it.

This is the second time Beth has asked me The Question: How do I know God is real?

So I know it's time.

The thing is, I don't know how to go about it.

I want to tell her the truth.

And I want to give her real answers.

I don't want to give her cliches from the usual sources of authority, but to share stuff I've actually experienced and thought about and struggled with - and of course, answers from the Bible.

To do that, I've got to make sure I know You, I am at peace with You and I am walking in step with you. (Tick...mostly.)

I've got to know my Bible. (WIP!)

I've got to pray unceasingly. Cos this is WAY over my head.

But it's effortless for You, because Your desire is for my girls to come to salvation, to come into a relationship with You.

You WANT this.

So help me God, as You helped:

• Solomon - when he asked for wisdom to rule Your people.
• Moses - when he said he had never been eloquent and was slow of speech and tongue.
• Jonah - when he prayed to You from inside the fish.
• Joshua - when he prayed for the sun and the moon to stand still, and You listened.

Help Bethany and Jordanne to come to a saving knowledge of You, to accept You into their hearts as Lord and Saviour, and to live wholly for You, however long or short that life may be. May they be Christ's ambassadors wherever they go in life.

In Your strong name I pray, Amen.

What is truth?

Maybe there is a universal truth embedded in everyone's soul. Maybe we all have the same story hiding inside, like a shared constant in our DNA. Maybe this collective truth is responsible for the similarity in all of our stories.

Truth has power. And if we all gravitate toward similar ideas, maybe we do so because those ideas are true ... written deep within us. And when we hear the truth, even if we don't understand it, we feel that truth resonate within us ... vibrating with our unconscious wisdom. Perhaps the truth is not learned by us, but rather, the truth is re-called ... re-membered ... re-cognized ... as that which is already inside us.

From Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol p. 409