WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.680 You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a 2 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.440 couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in 3 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:07.480 practical ways. 4 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:15.039 Here we are, it's Friday, Another day with the Bible 5 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:16.120 Guys and Wesley. 6 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:18.760 Yes, yes, I think a lot of people are returning 7 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:19.359 stuff today. 8 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:21.800 I think I think so yeah, oh no, what am 9 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:24.920 I gonna do with all this junk? Right? So now 10 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:29.399 we're returning it? Standing in line? Whatever. Well, hey, we 11 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:32.520 missed Chris this week. Yeah, he was off this whole week. 12 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:35.280 He'll join us. I think he's going to join us 13 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:39.240 next week. I'm hoping. So that's fine. We hope you 14 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:42.200 had a great time Chris and Liz. I hope you 15 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:45.240 can tolerate the podcast without your husband being on the podcast. 16 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:48.200 And well, the one thing is Liz doesn't have to 17 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:53.359 worry about what he's going to say my wife. You 18 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:55.240 being a public speaker, does your wife fret and worry 19 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:56.520 about what might come out of your mouth? 20 00:00:56.920 --> 00:00:59.560 Only when I get ready to tell stories? 21 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:01.679 Oh yeah, Like when the stories come, it's like, oh, 22 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:03.719 what easy about to say? 23 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.719 My wife? One? She doesn't have a poker face. You 24 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:10.640 always know what you know? Bonnie? Well, right, so Bonnie 25 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:14.120 and Wesley work in the same office, and so she 26 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.280 can't ever hide what's going on. If she's happy, she's delighted. 27 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.000 If she's nervous, she looks terrified. If she's mad, she 28 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:22.920 looks like she's going to burn the building down. There's 29 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.879 no there's no in between, no in between, and you 30 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:28.159 always know what she's like. So she has so much 31 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:30.959 anxiety when I speak, because sometimes things just come out 32 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:34.680 I don't want to say. And so for years she 33 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.799 sat in the green room and watched on the screen. 34 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:40.640 She'd be at church in the building, but she couldn't 35 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:42.760 be because I would say something and everybody look at her. 36 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:45.280 She knew she couldn't hide it, and finally I just 37 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:47.040 told her, I said, it doesn't matter. Just just let 38 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:48.959 your reaction be your reaction and go out and be 39 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:51.959 in the car. But for years she doesn't struggle with this. 40 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:55.840 So our wives they suffer because of the things we do. 41 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.319 So Liz, you got to you got to reprieve this week. 42 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:00.359 That's what we're trying to say. But maybe next week 43 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:04.319 is I'll be back and that'll be well, it's on 44 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:04.879 him at. 45 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:06.879 Well. 46 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.840 So today Wesley Desiree has a very important segment for us. Yeah, 47 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:15.439 and this is a one must go so we had 48 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:18.439 to do this or that kind of a thing. So 49 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:22.560 which one stays and which one goes away forever? See 50 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:24.840 that's and when it goes away forever, I'm gonna say, 51 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:27.080 not just goes away forever for you, but for all 52 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:31.639 of humanity. Yeah, okay, just so, just for clarifications sake. 53 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:34.840 So the first one is which one stays and which 54 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:37.719 one goes forever? Eggnog or fruitcake? 55 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:42.520 Wow, this is a tough one. I'm gonna have to 56 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:43.759 go with fruitcake. 57 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:50.280 Really, I can bear the fruitcake. I don't know who 58 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:54.479 came up with putting candy things and fruits and bread it. 59 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:58.800 Just yeah, just so so, I have never ever had 60 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:02.759 a good sip of eggnog in my life. I hate it. 61 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:06.800 But I have had, on one or two occasions, pretty 62 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:11.199 good fruitcake. Now, I'm pretty sure ninety nine percent of 63 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:14.199 all the fruitcakes are the same fruitcake getting passed around 64 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:17.639 for the last three decades. It's the same. Nobody actually 65 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:20.719 eats it, but I and I was in a priest's home, 66 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:25.360 a Coptic priest's home in Egypt, and it was near 67 00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:29.800 Christmas time, and he said he made a joke about fruitcake, 68 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:31.599 but he said, I think it was his wife or 69 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.240 his daughter had made it. He said, just take a bite, 70 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:38.840 and it was delicious. The fruit was slightly candied but 71 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:40.120 still had juice, and. 72 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:42.639 It fresh made. 73 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:47.120 The sweetness of the cake itself was really really good. 74 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.159 She had like a glazing on the top of it. 75 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:52.159 I probably ate five I ate more fruitcake in that 76 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:55.120 sitting in your whole life than all of the fruitcake 77 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:57.800 before or since. It was really good. So I have 78 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:01.080 had a good fruitcake. I've never had. 79 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:01.960 A good eggnolge. 80 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.840 So I'm gonna ban personally, gonna ban, and you're banning fruitcake, 81 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:08.879 all right. So we're divided on that one. Which one 82 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.120 the Christmas tree or holiday lights? 83 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.400 I gotta say the holiday lights. It's a thing to 84 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:15.840 get rid of. 85 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:16.839 I'm gonna go with that one. 86 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:19.120 It's kind of like, you need a Christmas tree for 87 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:22.079 the holiday. That's right, That's right, Christmas season. 88 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:25.160 So yeah, So we have a tall ceiling in our 89 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:28.519 great room area in our home, and my wife got 90 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:30.920 a new Christmas tree this year. It's really tall. Okay, 91 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:33.279 it's tall. It's like twelve feet tall or something. Yeah, 92 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:36.480 and it's really beautiful and it has like a gajillion 93 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:38.120 lights in it. Oh man, so it's hard. 94 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:39.079 So was it pre lit? 95 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:40.879 Yeah? Yeah, yeah, so those are the ones to get 96 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:44.879 there lit fabulous. So it's hard to have like a 97 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:48.160 super great Christmas tree without the lights. Yeah, but I 98 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:49.279 hate hanging. 99 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:49.879 Yeah. 100 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.120 So if you could have all pre lit Christmas lights 101 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:55.480 yeah on everything. Yeah, if you can buy a house 102 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:57.560 and they had little Christmas lights in it, you couldn't 103 00:04:57.560 --> 00:04:58.720 see them until you turned them on. 104 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.240 I do have a neighbor they got these new L 105 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:04.120 E D like Christmas lights and they just leave them 106 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:07.000 up all year. Oh they and sometimes they'll turn them 107 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.839 on periodically with different you can do different colors, hues 108 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:11.680 and different things. 109 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:12.879 So can you see them? 110 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:17.160 So you can't really see them until they like turn 111 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:21.680 them on. But it just seems weird. It's June and yeah, 112 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:24.000 and it's close to July. And I get it, you know, red, 113 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:26.160 white and blue, and I get the concept. 114 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:27.680 But yeah, no, I think. 115 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:29.199 I'm going to agree with you on the Christmas lights thing. 116 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:30.839 Let's get rid of those. Okay, here's the next one. 117 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:35.759 Gingerbread houses are Christmas cookies. I'm not a big gingerbread 118 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:37.439 house person. So let's sit with you on that. 119 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:38.000 I can go. 120 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:39.600 I am with it. Get it out of here. 121 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:41.360 Yeah, you need Christmas cookies? 122 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.680 I think I know the answer to this one. Also 123 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:45.959 or home Alone? Yeah, which one do we get rid of? 124 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:49.759 I'm gonna say, el oh, no, all right, get out, 125 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:50.920 just get out. 126 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:53.839 I'm going to carry the shows by myself. This is 127 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:55.759 I don't know that kind of negativity in my life. 128 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:58.639 Wesley just never seen it. So I want in the world. 129 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:03.399 I love Home Alone. But okay, candy canes or peppermint. 130 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:05.040 Bark Ooh, this is tough. 131 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:08.399 I know. I have a strong opinion about this one. 132 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:11.879 I'm gonna say, only because it's a classic. I'm going 133 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:13.759 to say, if I had to get rid of one, 134 00:06:13.800 --> 00:06:18.079 get rid of the peppermint bark only because candy canes 135 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.759 are I mean, have you had peppermint bark? 136 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:21.439 It's good? 137 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:25.519 But can canes are classic good, I mean they are classic. 138 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:26.360 I got all right. 139 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.240 You and I are not on the same page on 140 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:32.720 anything except Christmas lights. 141 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:36.079 And you said, just like Elf. Two, I love Elf. 142 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:39.480 What are you talking about? All right? And gingerbread houses? 143 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.600 Those are the two? Were all right? Well, speaking of 144 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.120 being on the same page. Hopefully you're on the same 145 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:49.160 page I am. With regard to reading Ecclesiastics, chapter three, 146 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:49.800 verse sixteen. 147 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:51.000 Yeah, that was a good pivot. 148 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.199 Yeah, yeah, it was. So. One of our goals is 149 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:57.439 the cheesiest pivots possible on these diffee games into the things. 150 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:00.680 So we have been reading the writings of Solomon for 151 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:05.680 quite some time. Solomon is the wisest man who ever lived, 152 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:09.240 apart from Jesus, and he wrote the Book of Proverbs, 153 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:12.040 which has so many practical, everyday living things. He wrote 154 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:13.920 the Book of Song of Solomon, which is all about 155 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:20.279 romance and romance and relationship and intimacy. And then this 156 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:23.600 book is written towards the end of his life where 157 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.920 he's made some significantly bad choices and he's starting to think, 158 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:31.000 maybe I wasted my life, and he's trying to find 159 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:35.040 the meaning of life. So then he says this in Ecclesiastes, 160 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.560 chapter three, verse sixteen, says, I also noticed that under 161 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:40.000 the sun there's evil in the courtroom. Yes, even in 162 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:42.240 the courts of law are corrupt. I said to myself. 163 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:44.639 In due season, God will judge everyone, both good and bad, 164 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:47.600 for all their deeds. I also thought about the human condition. 165 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.560 How God proves to people that they're like animals, For 166 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:53.680 people and animals share the same fate. Both breathe and 167 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:57.199 both must die. Well, that's an encouraging sayment. Well that's 168 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:58.720 it for the day, Jeff, we will see. 169 00:07:58.560 --> 00:07:59.160 You next time. 170 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:04.079 Meaningless, he says, how meaningless both go to the same place. 171 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:06.639 They came from dust, and they returned to dust. For 172 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:08.680 who can prove that the human spirit goes up and 173 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.439 the spirit of animals goes down into the earth. So 174 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:13.680 I say that there is nothing better for people than 175 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:16.120 to be happy in their work. That is why we're here. 176 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:18.480 No one will bring us back from death to enjoy 177 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:22.040 life after we die again. I observed all the oppression 178 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:24.040 that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears 179 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:26.199 of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The 180 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.759 oppressors have great power and their victims are helpless. So 181 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.039 I concluded that the dead are better off in the living. 182 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:34.360 But most fortunate of all are those who are not 183 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:36.320 yet born, for they have not seen all the evil 184 00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:39.360 that is done under the sun. Then I observed that 185 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:42.320 most people are motivated the success because they envy their neighbors. 186 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:46.039 But this too is meaningless, Like chasing the wind, fools 187 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:48.559 fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin. And yet 188 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.519 better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls 189 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.519 with hard work and chasing the wind. Yeah, this guy 190 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:55.320 is miserable. 191 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.080 Yeah, he is definitely not having a good time. 192 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.240 Yes, and his conclusions are not with everything else that 193 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:03.399 he's written. This is just a really bad day for 194 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:05.919 him writing that nothing really matters. 195 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:10.039 Yeah, that verse four, I'm skipping down a lot. But 196 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.200 in chapter four, verse four, when it says, then I 197 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:17.679 observe that most people are motivated to success because they 198 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:19.919 envy their neighbors, I'm like. 199 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:21.000 That is so true. 200 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.759 How we were motivated to work more, to do more, 201 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:28.279 to get more stuff, just to run with the joneses, 202 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:29.399 so to speak. 203 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:31.159 Yeah, see, I think that's hilarious. 204 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:33.440 The note in a life application study by will say 205 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:37.200 some people are lazy while others are workaholics. Lazy people, 206 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.559 seeing the futility of dashing about for success, idle away 207 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:42.799 their time and hurt both themselves and those who depend 208 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:46.519 on them. Workaholics are often driven by envy, greed, and 209 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:49.519 the constant desire to stay ahead of everyone else. Both 210 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:53.240 extremes are foolish, and irresponsible. The answer is to work hard, 211 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:56.519 but with moderation, take time to enjoy the other gifts 212 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:59.279 God has given and realize that it's God who gives 213 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:02.639 out the assign the rewards, not us. Yeah right. 214 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.600 My dad, i mentioned in an earlier episode, used to 215 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:08.120 work at Ford and he mentioned to me at a 216 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:11.799 young age, I'll never forget this, to never live off 217 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:15.519 your overtime as a young kid, my dad telling me that, 218 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.120 because if they ever pull the overtime, and now you're 219 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.519 in trouble. So he worked with this guy who every 220 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:25.480 ounce of overtime they made available, this guy worked. He 221 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.039 was there all the time. That the guy's dog didn't 222 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:28.879 even know him anymore. 223 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:30.720 I mean he worked and worked. 224 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:32.000 The guy's dog barked anymore. 225 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:36.399 Like anytime he could get overtime, that guy worked it. 226 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:36.960 Wow. 227 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:41.240 The guy retired within six months. 228 00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:44.639 He was dead. Wow. And other purpose, The point is 229 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:45.960 what was all that for? 230 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.840 So you made a lot of money, great, but you 231 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:50.879 didn't get to enjoy any of that. 232 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:53.679 For all your labor, you don't get to enjoy it. 233 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:55.080 So yeah, just crazy. 234 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:57.600 Yeah, you got to live life while your life. Yeah, 235 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:00.960 So if you look at your job and your opportunities 236 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:04.960 as ways to fund your life. Right, then you kind 237 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:07.679 of have a balance there. And there are seasons when 238 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.000 you need to work harder. You're saving up for a house, 239 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:11.919 or you're doing a kids or in school or something. 240 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:14.399 So you work harder, you put in more time to provide. 241 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:16.279 But then you need to also make sure that with 242 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.639 that push, there's also a little bit of pull right 243 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:20.519 where you pull back a little bit and you catch 244 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.480 your breath and you take meaningful time off with your 245 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.960 family and those kinds of things. And you know, if 246 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:29.399 you only save and you never spend, then you never 247 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:31.080 get benefit of what you saved. 248 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:31.320 You. 249 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:35.120 If you only spend and never save, then you're not 250 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.639 You don't have any preparation for the future, and one 251 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.039 little catastrophe's going to wipe you out. So there has 252 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.919 to be a balance. And I think what Solomon found 253 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:45.039 is finding through here is there was no real balance 254 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:49.120 in his life. It was all or nothing all the time, 255 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:53.240 and it was over indulgence in every area of his life. 256 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.360 And then he's frustrated, so he keeps coming back. If 257 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:59.120 you notice he's come back multiple times saying so, really, 258 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:01.080 maybe the only thing that really benefits is to learn 259 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:03.559 to enjoy life a little bit better. It seems to 260 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:07.240 me that he pushed so hard he never did enjoy life. 261 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:11.879 Now his writings warned against never pushing and being lazy, 262 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:14.600 and then you don't have anything to enjoy, right, So 263 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.120 there is this balance on that. And so for the 264 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:21.279 person sitting at listening today or driving listening today, whatever, 265 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:25.759 if you're hyper driven to achieve, usually that's driven by 266 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:31.440 a sense of a desire to be better than other people, 267 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:36.879 or to have more, or sometimes it's a materialism thing whatever, 268 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:40.360 or just a sense of my worth is in what 269 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:46.480 I produce, right, and so that leads towards workoholism, and 270 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:48.879 your family will suffer, the people around you will suffer, 271 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:51.600 and so will you physically. You need to take a break. 272 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:54.559 The other side of it is if you're the kind 273 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:56.639 of person who goes, I don't want to work, it's 274 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.679 too hard, nothing ever works out for me. Everybody else 275 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:02.240 has and I don't have, and all this kind of stuff. Well, 276 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:05.039 then Solomon say, how about getting up and working harder. 277 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:07.080 Go out and find a new job, Go do a thing, 278 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:10.240 get some more education so you can get a get 279 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:14.200 into a better career, try something new, work harder, take 280 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.320 some risks and see if you can't find a way 281 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:20.039 to get a business started or something, do something, and 282 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:22.399 so on both sides of those. And I think humans 283 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.519 have a really hard time finding balance in life. But 284 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.720 balance seems to be throughout this book. Seems to be 285 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:30.919 what he's wishing for, can't find. 286 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:32.960 Yeah, and you made a great point a moment ago 287 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.080 about your worth not being in your work. 288 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:36.480 Right. 289 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:39.159 For a lot of people, that's the case where the 290 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:41.720 title that they have on their job, the position that 291 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:46.240 they hold, their identity is tied to those things. The 292 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:48.879 problem with that is if you ever lose one of 293 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:51.679 those things, the position or the title, now you feel 294 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:53.320 like you have no point and no purpose. 295 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:53.840 That's right. 296 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:56.879 Yeah, So yeah, it's very important that we never tie 297 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:00.000 our identity into our work status. 298 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:04.559 And then he talks here about how he doesn't feel 299 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:07.360 like he's any more significant than an animal. Of course, 300 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:09.360 we know throughout the rest of scripture, the Bible talks 301 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:11.399 about how much more important we are to God, even 302 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.000 than God cares for and provides for the animals. But 303 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:16.759 he loves us. We're made in his image. And this 304 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:19.480 is one of the lies that the devil plays with 305 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:21.240 us a lot of times is that our life doesn't 306 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:25.120 mean anything, and he hates the fact that we're made 307 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:28.960 in God's image. Right, No other nothing else ever created, 308 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:31.759 is in God's image. God loves us, He made us 309 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.600 in his image, and so we have intrinsic value just 310 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:38.360 because we're made in the image of God. So those 311 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.399 of us that are Christians, we should walk. We are 312 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:43.720 princes and princesses in the Kingdom of God. We are 313 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.720 literally the sons and daughters of the King of the universe. 314 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.360 We are made to reflect him. We are made to 315 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:52.360 represent him. Of course, we are his servants as well 316 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:56.879 as his children. But we have great purpose just by 317 00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:59.200 the fact that God chooses to allow us to breathe 318 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.159 breath right, and to eat food and to walk on 319 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:05.080 this planet. And so then finding that purpose and leaning 320 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:08.679 into that is incredibly important. He's depressed because he's forgotten 321 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:11.120 that he doesn't remember and it just feels like he's 322 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:14.120 no more significant than an animal, right, And so the 323 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:17.159 words he's saying here are not true words. They're just 324 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:19.720 the words he's feeling. In the moment it felt true 325 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:24.360 to him. And then he moves from there. Everything's useless 326 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:28.519 to powerful people abuse weak people, and man, this world 327 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:32.879 is screwed up. And these two arguments are often things 328 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.000 that people who are struggling with ideas of faith want 329 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:39.159 to talk about. Is my life doesn't matter. What does 330 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:42.320 it matter? Right, We're just going to die? Or the 331 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.720 other side of it is why do bad things happen? Right? 332 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:46.720 Those are things and these are the same exact things. 333 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:48.559 So if you ever asked those questions struggle those things, 334 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.480 so did Solomon. There's hope when we get to the 335 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:53.080 end of this book, you're going to find out Solomon 336 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.919 figured it out, right, He hinted at it the other day. 337 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:58.000 We didn't comment on it. Do you remember that phrase 338 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.600 where Solomon said, a couple of days ago, God has 339 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.240 placed eternity in the hearts of man. Yeah, right, Yeah. 340 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:06.519 Solomon starts figuring it out, but by the end of 341 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:09.759 the book he finally goes, ah, I got it now. Yeah, 342 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.159 I figured out what really matters. But not yet he 343 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:13.000 hasn't figured out yet. 344 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:15.600 One of the things that I'll say, Jeff, is that 345 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.279 this actually resonates with me because it's real. 346 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:22.360 Yeah, and this is what a lot of people deal with. 347 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:24.879 It's kind of like if you as you read through this, 348 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.039 He's on like an emotional rollercoaster. 349 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:29.720 He's up and down and up and down. 350 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:33.840 And I just love that the Bible as it's giving 351 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.120 us information, it's not glossing over the good, the bad, 352 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:40.320 and the ugly. It's showing us everything. And we go 353 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:42.159 through a lot of these same things, and we've said 354 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:43.960 a lot of these same things too, So I. 355 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.480 Well, as you read through the Book of Psalms, there's 356 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:51.840 times when Solomon's dad, David, is writing and he's mad 357 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:55.120 at God. Yeah, he said, come on, are you serious? 358 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:58.200 My enemies are prospering and I'm suffering. I'm the one 359 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:00.679 hiding and they're the ones sleeping at home with their children. 360 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:02.639 And he's like, I don't even feel like you're paying 361 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:05.240 attention to me. You chose me, you said you were 362 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:07.400 gonna bless me, and here I am running from my 363 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.920 life and my enemies are indulging in all the things 364 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:11.799 that I should be benefiting from. And he gets mad 365 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.599 at God. And it's amazing. God doesn't get mad at David. 366 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.880 God doesn't crush me. Right now, I'm mad at You're 367 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:21.000 gonna go find somebody else instead. God inspired this according 368 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:22.640 to the Holy Spirit, and decided to put it in 369 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.759 the Bible because God acknowledges that we're humans and that 370 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:31.880 our feelings there are. Our feelings are real to us. 371 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:35.000 They're not always legitimate. Sometimes we can be thinking or 372 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:38.640 feeling the wrong thing, but feelings are real, and so 373 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:41.640 God is not offended by them. What God seems to 374 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:43.599 do is celebrate the fact that David is coming and 375 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.720 complaining to God. Right, that means you know when you're 376 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.200 mad at God? Did you know? That means it proves 377 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:52.000 you believe in God. I've had people. I've had people 378 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:55.640 go I don't believe in God? Why because I prayed 379 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.279 and asked God to heal my grandmother and she died. Anyways, 380 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:00.279 and I've been mad at Him ever since. Who are 381 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:02.519 you mad at if you don't believe in him? Right? 382 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:04.519 You believe in God. The fact that you're mad at 383 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:07.440 God means you believe in Him, and so God is 384 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:09.960 not angry at you for being angry at him. If 385 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.759 you're moving towards Him, which is what David did. It's 386 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.720 even what you find Solomon doing by the end of 387 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:18.640 the book. By the end of this Ecclesiastes is Solomon 388 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:21.759 is moving towards God. In that so God is not 389 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.240 offended by your feelings, and it's not like you're going 390 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:27.279 to get zapped lightning going to strike you from heaven 391 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:29.440 because you have the wrong feelings or the wrong opinion 392 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:32.759 in the moment. Instead, you need to keep moving towards God. 393 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:36.400 And what I've seen in my life is, you know, 394 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.440 after having talked with thousands and thousands and thousands of 395 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:41.799 people about things of faith, when people come to a 396 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:45.960 crisis moment, they either run to God or from God. Right, 397 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:49.440 those are the only two options. And so I think 398 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:52.000 as you read this desperation that you have that you 399 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:54.799 find in Solomon, you're not really sure at this point 400 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.160 in the book where is he going to go? You 401 00:18:56.279 --> 00:19:00.880