This blog is for people who suffer from addictive and compulsive behaviors. Sexual addiction in particular but hopefully anyone who struggles with any addictive and compulsive behavior can benefit from it. It is based on the Old Testament book of the Bible entitled Ecclesiastes. I come at the book from an evangelical point of view but the blog is hopefully written so that it can be applied to all faith. It is understood that you may come to this blog not even believing in God. I pray that somehow you are able to acknowledge a higher power that can restore all of us to sanity.
Last week we talked about the uncertainty of divine retribution upon the wicked. and the fact that "experience" (i.e "I have seen or observed") tells us that the wicked may appear to be praiseworthy in their public life. Their religious adherence does not permeate their inner lives.
This week we turn to Ecclesiastes 8:14: "There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless." (Ecc 8:14 NIV) The unpredictability of life is seen also in the observation that the righteous get the calamities that should befall the wicked and the wicked have the blessings that should befall the righteous bestowed upon them. Solomon says this is "meaningless" It escapes comprehension. As in the contrasting parallelism seen in the earlier verses which lay the contrasting thoughts side by side the writer does not attempt to explain away or rectify this theological conundrum but leaves the tension there for the reader to experience.
In Ecclesiastes 8:15 Solomon begins his concluding thought, a variation of earlier summaries (see 3:13,5:19): "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun." (Ecc 8:15 NIV) The author is not bitterly resigning himself to this rather he is following God's command in Deuteronomy 8 to humbled himself recognize God's goodness and enjoy the bounties of the land God has given him. In the face of uncertainty men and women should enjoy each day God gives them, knowing that they may encounter tragedy. It is hard to live in the present moment. We are always planning the future, perhaps avoiding the past. The use of this moment to experience our life in the environment we are in right now is the wisest thing we can do for ourselves.
In verses 16 and 17 Solomon continues his concluding remarks concerning this section. He says in verse 16: " When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth--his eyes not seeing sleep day or night--" (Ecc 8:16 NIV) The writer has already talked about this in 1:13 and 2:12. He is devoted to pursuing wisdom. He observes the labor of men on earth. He as king had an opportunity to "see" and manage the labor of many peoples across his vast kingdom. He uses a unique metaphor here, and it is only used here in the Old Testament. How does one see sleep? You will never sleep with your eyes open, everseeing. Some interpret this as the idea that men (mankind) labors so intensively that they never sleep or sleep well. That probably gathers the sense of the phrase. The author may include himself here. He is set about "seeing" observing man's ways in an attempt to see what God has done. But just as in all wisdom literature the writer has made us "feel" the labor, the elusiveness of life just by having to entertain such a figure of speech.
Verse 17 continues the thought: "then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it." (Ecc 8:17 NET) Solomon probably speaks in hyperbole here. He is finite. He has not seen every event from the beginning of creation. Through history and the gathering of facts he has learned and attempted to sift from those facts what God has done. He concludes that the act is futile. None can grasp what God does. This verse equates the action of God with the activity "that is carried on under the sun." This is crucial in the book because of Solomon's quest. It is as if we can observe God's ways from afar but do not have intimate knowledge of what will transpire next. It is important to note here that even if someone tells you they know what God is doing---they do not.
We move now to chapter 9. Verse 1 states: "So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him." (Ecc 9:1 NIV) In verse 8:16 he applied his mind now in 9:1 he reflects "on all of this." This perhaps going as far back as 6:9-10. He has been dealing with the limitations of human wisdom and the inscrutability of wisdom knowledge and righteousness to insure a long and meaningful life here "under the sun." A strong statement follows: what the righteous and the wise do are in God's hands. No man knows whether love or hate awaits. Ultimately they don't know what will happen. His seeking has brought him to the understanding that their is uncertainty for those who live skillfully. The existential (living for the moment) impact of this statement is lost on many people today. These types of verses make me attempt to live in the moment every day. Savoring each experience with all the fervor I can muster at any given time. This helps me to live life fully. Not forgetting to plan for tomorrow. Not regretting yesterday but giving myself freedom to live powerfully in each moment because I don't know whether God, my higher power, will have planned love or hate for me. I want to live in the moment whatever that may be.
9:2 broadens the concept of the inscrutability of God's ways: "All share a common destiny--the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them."(Ecc 9:2 NIV) Compare 2:15, 5:4-5, 8:8 for some of these concepts. The great leveler is death, from those who do the most good for the world i.e. Mother Theresa to those who produce extreme pain and sorrow i.e Adolf Hitler. We may think that we are immortal that we will escape death--we've done it so far. But we don't escape. Death ultimately comes. It does not matter if you have been righteous, good, clean, religious both inwardly and outwardly or if you have been wicked, bad, unclean, denied religious observances, a sinner, or refused to take promises to God seriously--ultimately we will all eventually die. This is the sobering fact that keeps us living in the here and now.
The applications? It is better to live life wisely following God's commands. There is no guarentee that bad things that "should" happen to the evil person won't happen to us, but as a general princiople wise living brings happiness and joy in life. I am moved by the existential approach here also. Living one day, each day as if it were to be your last. Has step three taken place in your life? "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him" Then we rest in the fact that our lives are in his hands. Are you struggling to establish sobriety? Do not look at thirty days sixty days, 90 days, or a year. Those come one moment at a time. We all live each moment in sobriety. Are you moving into recovery. Live today wisely asking yourself what is one thing today that I can do to be more positive in recovery. I have an amends letter to write today. That is one thing I will do to move my recovery forward in a positive way to day.
To those who read this and have not yet entered into the process we simply ask that you join our fellowship-the fellowship Recovery. It is possible that out of control and dangerous behaviors do not have to continue their destructive ways in your life. Accept of gift of sobriety.
Our time is up for today so until next time keep coming back it works if you work it and you are worth it.
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