Meaningless?

A couple weeks ago, I started reading the book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon. Some of my friends and I were having a discussion about the last chapter of this book, and it peaked my interest. Ecclesiastes has always been a confusing book for me, and I decided to take a deeper look at it.

Two weeks later, I'm two chapters in and honestly don't understand much more than when I began.

Opening up my Bible to the book of Ecclesiastes, I scanned my eyes down the bold print on the first page, perplexed by what I saw.

Everything is Meaningless

Wisdom is Meaningless

Pleasures are Meaningless

Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

Toil is Meaningless

I didn't know what these meant, but I began reading.

"Meaningless! Meaningless!

says the Teacher.

Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless."

~Ecclesiastes 1:2

Immediately I turned to my notebook. "Why does he say everything is meaningless?" I wrote. "Don't we have a purpose? Don't the things we do have meaning?"

Reading further down the page, I grew more and more discouraged. Geez, I thought. I don't remember Solomon being such a Johnny Raincloud! Nothing he has ever observed or done has any meaning at all?!

Considering Solomon has been remembered throughout generations for his wisdom, wealth and for the temple he built in Jerusalem, that didn't seem to give me much hope for having a meaningful life.

But before you get overwhelmed with the negativity of this post, allow me to share with you what I'm learning from this chapter/book of the Bible.

It is believed that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes near the end of his life. Looking back on his accomplishments and mistakes, he came to the conclusion that they all were empty.

"I have seen all the things

that are done under the sun;

all of them are meaningless,

a chasing after the wind."

~ Ecclesiastes 1:14

As I thought about this statement, I began to see it's truth. We place so much value in the things that we do, yet how often do we do something worthwhile while never actually investing in it's purpose?

Most of us could quickly recognize the people in our lives that have opened our eyes to what it means to engage in the heart of a project or ministry, versus those who have gone through the motions - even if they had good intentions.

This realization challenged me to examine everything I do and the way I do it.

In my journal I wrote, "The things I do - big or small - may or may not have meaning in and of themselves, but is Ecclesiastes written to help me think about how to bring meaning to them? I get so caught up in my routines and what's normal or expected that I forget to bring meaning to what I do."

Two days later, I went to my first church service at The Rock in San Diego. Near the end of his sermon, Pastor Miles McPherson said something along the same lines.

"Don't let your routine box God out from interfering with your life."

Good intentions aren't enough. I don't want to box God out, but it's so easy to get stuck in a rut without even realizing it. I have to be proactive and intentional about the things I do, and not allow myself to compromise their worth by letting them become too familiar.

If I learn nothing more from Ecclesiastes, I hope to learn how to open up the compartmentalized boxes of my life and allow God to inject meaning into them.