16 Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant[a]
and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth
and whose princes eat at a proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness.
and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth
and whose princes eat at a proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 If a man is lazy, the rafters sag;
if his hands are idle, the house leaks.
if his hands are idle, the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
and wine makes life merry,
but money is the answer for everything.
and wine makes life merry,
but money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird of the air may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird of the air may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
The following are a couple of excerpts from Butter Knife Loggers by Mark Driscoll:
If a guy won’t even take care of the place where he lives, that is an indication to you that his whole life is just foolish. That’s where he spends his time. That’s where he builds his equity. That’s where he’s going to live with his lovely wife. That’s where he’s going to raise his kids, who’d die when the roof caves in on them. That’s the problem. That’s a big problem. You gotta know who you are. You gotta know the problems that could await the life that you’re pursuing. You need to make a plan to overcome them in advance and you need to work really hard. Get up early. Work diligently. Don’t get drunk.
He goes on then, Verse 19. This is my favorite verse in Ecclesiastes possibly. “A feast is made for laughter and wine makes life merry but money is the answer for everything.” Some of you still are under this myth that you don’t need more money. How — everyone needs more money. Money — it’s a bit of hyperbole, it doesn’t lie. Most of your problems, if you had more money, actually would be helpful in eradicating them. Right?
How many of you like to laugh and drink? I vote yes. I vote yes. Not to drunkenness and not like the fools who just sit around and turn every day into a frat party or Mardi gras. Wise people know, however, I wanna buy a home with a fat dining room table so I could have my friends over and we can kill an animal and bar-b-q it as God intends, and then we can laugh and enjoy one another’s company because a feast is made for what? Laughter.
Gluttony isn’t accompanied by celebration. Feasting is, and you look at it and feasting and gluttony sometimes look like the same thing: people with lots of food. But they’re completely different, because the feasting is purposeful. In the words of Ecclesiastes, it’s meaningful. We’re celebrating your birthday. We’re celebrating God’s provision. We’re celebrating this child’s coming into the world. We’re celebrating your marriage. We’re celebrating your promotion at work. We’re celebrating. We’re feasting. We’re enjoying one another and we’re laughing very deeply and that’s what wise people can do.
There are righteous rich who worked hard and were thrifty and became rich. There are unrighteous rich who stole their money and God will judge them. There are two kinds of poor: people that are righteous and poor. They’re poor because they love God. There are people who are unrighteous and poor. They’re poor because they’re wicked and they sin, and because of that, their life doesn’t get any traction. They’re like a two-wheel drive in a snow bank. They don’t go anywhere. What he’s talking about here is pursuing righteous wealth. Love God. Fear God. Have a plan. Work hard. Be diligent. Be devoted. Be smart and when you get your money, do what with it? Share it. Feed your friends. Throw parties. Fund ministries. Help those in need. Wise people know the value of money. Some of you greatly underestimate the value of money.
I don't know about you, but some of this hurt me. Some of this reminded me of what I already knew but sometimes choose to ignore, which is DILIGENCE. Diligence is the key. And there are days when I am diligent and do everything I need to do and at the end of the day I look around at everything that's been accomplished and I feel GREAT. And I'm generally not more tired than on days where I look around at what I should do and make excuses for why I don't need to do it right now, or I have lots of time and I can do it later, or I just don't feel like it, or I'm not feeling great today...
Not to say that we shouldn't take time to relax and rejuvenate and pursue leisure activities, but it's important to consider when and how often. Diligence. Ouch.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6.
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