The birth of Jesus changed faith as the world knew it. Over time, Jesus’ life brought an end to many of the Jewish traditions of worship. We’re coming to the end of our year, and though January 1st is just another day, it is one observance that travels the world in celebration. In Ecclesiastes 7, we find some strange thoughts from King Solomon. “A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting … Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.” “A good name is better than perfume”, we can understand, but death being better than life, or going to a house of mourning is better than being in a house of feasting?? I could see where the dying comment might be relevant for a Christian, but for a Jew? (Remember, Solomon was way before Jesus’ day) Old Jewish tradition didn’t teach so much heaven and hell, but a place called sheol where the soul just kind of existed in a dark state of being. If this were the case, how in the world could death be better than life? According to Solomon, wisdom is the success of life, and he can say this because of the gift he was given when asking God for wisdom. God was so impressed, He told Solomon that because he asked for wisdom over wealth and honor, he would gain everything else he didn’t ask for. So in Solomon’s wisdom we read the day of death is better than the day of birth. It is better to go mourn than to go feast, for death is the destiny for every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart”!? Solomon is not saying that we are supposed to live in misery, but he is saying there are lessons to learn in places where we’re not comfortable being. Many celebrate the New Year because we are a hopeful bunch. “Next year will be better” is our end of the year motto, but will it really? That’s what Solomon is trying to tell us. If we didn’t learn anything during times of trials and mourning this year, then what makes us think the New Year is going to be any different? The wise man will listen with his heart to a funeral message and take stock in his own life. That’s why Solomon follows up with sorrow is better than laughter because a sad face is good for the heart. I can honestly say I’ve never felt good over a sad face, but I can tell you Solomon is right, in the dozens of times I have sat and listened to someone in my office weeping over some heartache, that sad face made me take stock in who I am. Solomon tells us the heart of the wise is IN the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. So what can we learn from these lessons that seem so out of character for us? We learn that in life, we are born and we die, and in between is life with a purpose, and prayerfully we learn that God given purpose and we use it. 362 days ago was a beginning. Three days from now will be an ending and in four days we’ll begin again. There is a time for everything under the sun, Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 3. In his examples, most everything signifies a time to do something and a time to not; a time to begin and a time to end. Some of those endings we don’t like, but as the nature of God’s creation shows, that’s how it is with us. How we endure those beginnings and endings has to do with the condition of our hearts and minds. When the heart and mind coexist in wisdom, we are pained over certain endings, but take stock in what they mean so we can learn from them. If our minds and hearts are at odds because of worldliness, there are no gains, only greater distress. There is a time for everything under the sun, so when you mourn because something has ended or because something has begun, be hopeful that in your mourning you are growing in wisdom. As we finish out this New Year, may we all rejoice in the blessings God has granted in 2014, and may we mourn for those things that hurt our heart, while in the meantime, using them to grow wiser in successful hope that 2015 will be a blessed year for us all. Should you be struggling with the hope of a new year or still in mourning over this year’s heartache, Please visit a local church or drop me a note. God has granted every single person Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and Jesus to get us through the end of this life to into the next. Please don’t miss it because of a misunderstanding †
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 19:45:00 +0000
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