Thoughts for another day

May 21, 2012

Today's verse: Eccl. 5:18. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. (KJV)

(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

In the course of my ministry to people, I've noticed the stupidity of Christian men and women in their approach, or rather lack of approach to, life.  I know an elderly man whose only time-pass, if I may call it, is to remember the past and all the great things he did then.  Oh yeah, when you go to him he tells you of his wonderful exploits and how great he was and so on.  You begin thinking, if he was so great, how then is he so down now?  But whatever his story, the fact is, he hardly enjoys his life now.  I ask him, what he does for people, for he always cribs that no one visits him, and as expected his answer is, nothing! With the opinion, why should I do anything when others don't do anything for me?  I dare not even suggest that he could begin the process.   Ask him, are you able to enjoy life and again his answer is no, for he will again slip into the past, which is the only place he can enjoy….ah, well; you think, this is a life worth living? Again I know of an old lady who lives alone.  Her constant refrain is that her younger son is a real lout and must be punished and that her elder son died without any comfort, poor fellow, and she blames herself and cries about all those things. 

What I tend to wonder at is, both these are reasonably well off and if they but shed their lousiness and go about the act of living, they could not only make life for them worth living but also enrich others like them.  But do they use what God has given them as their portion and live life according to what He would want them to?  No, they don't.  On the contrary they're miserable and they will also make those who visit them miserable with the dirt they're filled with.

I look at our Scripture above and realize what a 'gift' it is from God to be able to enjoy riches and wealth He in His mercy gives us; to have the power to partake of this wealth and to rejoice in one's labor, no matter what it be; to be able to live a full life perfumed with God's Grace in service of the other and laughing with them, perhaps crying too.  How wonderful it would be if we ceased to look at only the clouds without realizing that the sun is but a few shades away.  If you're reading this and if the Holy Spirit is reaching out to you, accept His love and His teaching and live life, rather than just exist.