For the most part, Ecclesiastes is a depressing book. This message starts at a house of mourning and ends up at seeing the sun. Ecclesiastes tells how so many things we would strive for are empty and worthless. Money does not bring satisfaction; it breeds the desire for more. Pleasure is a brief pursuit, unless at heart we are content and happy from the start. Among its reversals of the expected, we are reminded that a rebuke from the wise is better than the song of fools. We understand the truth of the statement, but to live that truth is another matter altogether. It requires humbleness. It requires accepting our limitations. It requires us that we feel sorrow when we find what we have done in error and that we change our direction and accept responsibility for our actions. This is not what we would like to hear it. Our society argues against accepting responsibility. We don't like the sound of that word. We want to believe that somehow responsibility makes us less than free and independent. It might require us to engage in caring for others and live for something more than our own pleasure. Our society needs to change its attitude from "its not my fault" to I take full responsibility, but we no this will not happen.
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essays:
Comparing the Book of Job to Ecclesiastes
... the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." (Ecclesiastes 9:11, King James Bible)Through much of ...
Comparing the Book of Daniel to Ecclesiastes
... of which don't have to do with the Book's message as much the time and location of its writing. The Book of Daniel has strong thematic similarities to the rest of the Old Testament, and even a relevance to the ...
Christian Art
... to be the work of Oriental craftsmen who served the church. The chair also depicts illustrations of Christ and the story of Joseph. During the sixth century, the desire to have Christian art spread from the church to the home. In most cases, many homes had some type of art in every room of the ...
Women in the Ministry.
... to preach the gospel. When men, in their human weakness, hid because they were afraid to associated with the crucified "King of the Jews," it was women who bravely and defiantly stood at the cross and the tomb. It was the women who reported the gospel, to the ...
Martin Luther
... accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other--my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for us to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen' (Bainton 144). Essentially, Luther provided the ...