READ: Ecclesiastes 1: 1-11
“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “utter meaningless!” (V. 2)
Like an army of ants, we entered and methodically exited the vacant building with hundreds of pounds of paper destined for recycling. I was among a number of volunteers cleaning out a building once occupied by an engineering firm that went bankrupt. They had simply locked the doors leaving behind offices and storerooms filled with reports, blueprints, resource materials and supplies. Now we were cleaning it out as our church had acquired the property and planned to convert it into its new administrative office.
Looking at the massive number of documents, I thought of all the talent, time and effort that had been put into their creation. Business and government entities had once paid large sums of money for the firms engineering work. Picking up old coffee cups and pictures reminded me that people were once at the heart of this enterprise. They produced these old dusty documents that once generated the revenue stream supporting themselves and their respective families. Now the fruit of their labors was ingloriously being thrown into a dumpster—it had become “meaningless!”
Each trip to the dumpster, and we made a lot of them, caused me to feel strangely uneasy about my own life. To be sure, I had a highly successful career in law enforcement, retiring as second in command of a large and highly respected police department. Plaques, awards and letters of recognition marked the highlights of my career. But now, except for my Badge plaque, which adorns my living room wall, everything else is packed away in boxes gathering dust in my basement and attic. With the passing years, I realize that anything I accomplished, while of vital importance in its day, was now a fading part of the department’s legacy and history. The strange part was that someday, in the not-too-distant future, someone will be putting many of my things in a dumpster for they have lost their meaning!
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Solomon’s pessimistic writing, near the end of his life, pointed to the fact that only by seeking God and his will for our lives, will we achieve true satisfaction and produce a legacy that will not be discarded or recycled. Through his wisdom, Solomon is asking each of us to reevaluate the purpose and direction for our lives in light of our faith in God. Perhaps the time has come to shift our life’s emphasis to follow a new Spirit directed purpose. God used a dusty old building to get my attention—how about you?
Dear God, test my faith and direction that I may be challenged to seek, serve and follow your will for my life.