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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Life is truly full of surprises. One of the things that we see frequently is the “weird bounces” that life takes. Another way of saying this is expressed in the saying, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” This was much of Solomon's opine in the book of Ecclesiastes. Things that he wanted to be, planned for, and worked to achieve just didn't work out. This, according the The Preacher was vanity. In his most troublesome moments, he would say, “All is vanity!” One such expression of surprise from his pen reads, “I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants.” (Ecclesiastes 10.7).
In case you haven't discovered it yet, “Life isn't fair.” This was obvious to Solomon and it is obvious to anyone who is a true observer of events about us today. Men and women that are riding the “crest of the wave” frequently do so because they got a “lucky break.” Ask anyone in the entertainment business and they can typically point to the day and hour when their break came, when they were discovered, or when they just happened to be in the right place at the right time. However, for every success story there are ten thousand stories of failure; men and women just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or no one gave them a break, or their work was just ahead of its time and went without being appreciated. The difference in the success stories and the failures is not in talent, desire, difference in work ethic, or lack of planning; it is simply one of “chance,” or at least it seems so from the sidelines. This was Solomon's opine!
How about you? Can you recall ever planning for something to come to pass, even dreaming about it, but all of your efforts were seemingly for naught? Chances are good you have had this happen to you. When it happened, who did you “blame”? What was the result of the exercise? Did it end in frustration and disappointment? I personally recall some thoughts I had as a young man that are relative to these circumstances. I recall thinking that as long as I worked hard at my job and was honest, I would be successful in whatever my hand found to do. My boss would be happy, coworkers would be delighted to work with me, customers would be happy, and life would be rosy! This was (with emphasis on the past tense) my perspective at one point in time. I remember it well; I remember it because there came a time when I realized that my theory was terribly flawed! I had failed to take into account the fact that princes sometimes walk!
What we have just said, Solomon said long ago in a slightly different way; he wrote, “The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9.11). Time and chance do, in fact, happen to all men. At times the only difference between a champion and a runner-up has nothing to do with skill or preparedness; rather, good fortune just seemed to fall in the winner's lap!
As for believers, the concept that the broken pieces of our lives will automatically fall into place because we are Christians is also a flawed concept; it certainly is not rooted in Scripture. Three men, all who had names beginning with the letter J prove this point. Joseph, Job, and Jesus should make this case without another word being said. To reinforce this reality, Paul wrote, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3.12). The world's ills are not solved, and life does not become fair simply because we become believers. “I Have Seen Princes Walk.”
Questions:
1. Why isn't the entire world delighted to see someone living righteously?
2. What is meant by the statement that time and chance happen to all?
3. How are Joseph, Job, and Jesus similar as they are used in today's message?
4. If life is not fair, them what motivation is there to live honestly and honorably?
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