What Do You See?

“I have seen all things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecc. 1:14).

Do you ever begin the day reading the paper or watching the news, only to wish you hadn’t bothered? The headlines and stories provide us with information and commentary – but all of us take that information and draw conclusions about the world and what it means to live well in our particular time and place. These conclusions can take us in the direction of hope and promise. They can push us toward the search for solutions. They can also take us toward despair.

The words of Ecclesiastes come to us from a shrewd observer of life. The book is a report on what is observed, along with a conclusion. Interestingly, the book begins with the conclusion, moves to various observations, and keeps coming back to rehearse the conclusion. In chapter one alone there are repeated statements of what the writer has concluded about life:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” Says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecc. 1:2)

What a fun guy! This hardly sounds like the kind of person we’re eager to hang out with or invite to a party. We can see people dodging into doorways or bathrooms or quickly making a phone call when they see this person coming their way. But this writer forces us to consider a significant question about our own lives and the conclusions we’ve drawn from what we see going on around us day after day.

Do we look at the world and then draw conclusions from what we see? Or do we hold assumptions and ready-made conclusions that determine how we look at the world?

Is it possible that we do both at the same time?

Try this: find a copy of the paper today and scan the headlines. Imagine yourself at Starbucks with Solomon. How would you refute his conclusion “all is meaningless?” Could you refute it?

Prayer: God, I don’t always know what to make of all I see going on around me. On some days my conclusions are hopeful. On other days I sound and feel like Solomon. Help me to see the world as you see it and to live by faith – knowing that there is always more than meets the eye. Amen.