Meaning In Our Toil

If you follow the life of Solomon it is intriguing to say the least to watch his passion poured out into his first book (Song of Solomon), then his wisdom released in the writings of Proverbs. So then what happens by the time he writes the book Ecclesiastes. The theme of passion and love for life found in Song of Solomon is lost to the wondering and de-spirited moans of "Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.

Solomon had the best job in all the land. He was the king. No one's job trumped that of the job of Solomon but somewhere along the line Solomon loses focus. Somewhere the kingdom and his job became less about a service to the people in which he ruled to a means to satisfy the emptiness of his own soul. In his own testimony in Chapter two of Ecclesiastes he confesses to his own selfishness and self satisfying of all his toil and efforts. "I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them." And the list of projects goes on and on who's aim was to satisfy his own hungers and needs. Not houses built for the poor and destitute in the land. Not vineyards and parks to feed the hungry. All his toil was spent on his own lostness.

What about our toil. It is funny how in seasons of my own life and ministry I find myself lost and seeking for meaning in what I do. My focus can so easily become on meeting my own needs of feeling important, valued, or needed. Every time I start living out of that I feel my soul slip into the same world Solomon's did, "Meaningless, Meaningless, everything is meaningless!"

What I have found answers the cry of our heart for meaning in our toil is the same thing Solomon knew but had lost connection to. It is his own words of Chapter 3 vss. 24 & 25, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment." The wisdom of this scripture is deep and can be missed if you read it flat. Here is what it is saying. Working on behalf of others can be satisfying in moments but will still not satisfy your soul. Connection to God that gives satisfaction can satisfy in moments but does not by itself satisfy your soul. Now before you hang me for heresy, hear me out. The satisfaction God intends for you through your toil is both!!!! It is a deep connection to God that satisfy's your soul and a focus on his purposes that will always make your toil not about how much money you make but how much what you do focuses on the lives of others.

You need compensated for your work. You are not a slave. But the minute your focus comes about building more houses and parks for yourself is the minute you find yourself at the end of the string holding on with one hand wondering how you fell so far from joy. It is not the position you have that satisfies. Remember Solomon had the best position in all the kingdom. It is not about how many hours you volunteer to good causes. It is not about how much time you spend reading scripture. It is about how much connectivity to the God of the Universe that alone can lead you to satisfaction through a life of purpose and meaning founded in him and extended to others. Instead of switching from job to job in a desperate hunt for meaning why not rethinking why you do what you do, and how you do what you do. And have that conversation with God.

What hooks you?

I got hooked this week. Hooks are words, moments, or situations that capture your heart, raise the temperature inside you, where you find yourself trapped by your emotions. It happens to all of us. A person uses just the right loaded word carrying with it implications or accusations and you get hooked. You get defensive in another situation and you can't figure out why your defensive but you are. It is because you got hooked.

Here is the thing. A hook get's deep in your heart and then it pulls. When that happens, just like a fish on the end of a fisherman's line, we fight to get off. In the flailing around we can find ourself just more hooked.

So how do you get unstuck when you get hooked? Well what I learned this week is when you get hooked and you can't figure out why you are hooked no matter how much you try to talk it out it will only get worse. Your horns get locked and without knowing the hook you just battle to no avail. The conversation stops at the hook.

The first thing you have to do is identify the hook. This is hard because it can mean having to table the conversation. But tabling the conversation allows you to get the time to allow your heart to settle. When your heart is settled you are in the best position to calmly identify and remove the hook.

This only happens in conversation with God. According to his word he can identify and expose the things in us that don't bring glory to him. This is prayer, journal, and questions directed to God and then listening as he reveals it.

Once you know the hook you can then go back and re-engage the conversation to find resolution. Learning to live and communicate this way honors God, heals relationships, and catapults mission forward.

So here is to the removing the hooks in our lives!!!!

The Promise of Character

Character comes at a price and God's promise to us committed to following him is that he will develop it in our lives. "...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope." Romans 5:4

God's ability to use his people to bring about his kingdom on earth is completely dependant on our willingness to function in this character. The minute we don't, is the minute that we thwart the plans of God to bring about love, peace, and hope, to others all around us.

In Joshua Chapter 9 God had already used Joshua to destroy both the kingdoms of Jericho and Ai. Because of the great power of God's hand demonstrated through Joshua and Israel the other kingdoms in the area decided instead of taking on Joshua and his God to use deceit in which to acquire a treaty to ensure their safety. It worked. Joshua gave them the treaty thinking they were a people from far off and not living in the land God had promised to Israel.

When Joshua discovered they had tricked him he could have voided the treaty he offered them and easily justified his action. In fact all the assembly of Israel was pleading for him to do so. Instead he remained true to his promise. In doing so God was able to establish the land west of the Jordan as Israel's new home without having to destroy any more people.

The temptation for all of us is to justify the breaking of our oath in one moment for the convenience of the next moment. Many times we give our word before fully understanding the price it will cost us when time to deliver comes. What we must remember is that the story God is writing in the world around us is bigger than our inconvenience or personal costs. By remaining true to our word we remain true to his and allow him to use our faithfulness to bring peace, hope, love, and joy to our lives and the lives of all those around us.

Might my promises one moment be bigger than the convenience of re-niging in the next. Might yours be as well.

Turning Self-Talk to God-Talk

We do a lot of talking. We don't just talk a lot to others, we talk a lot to ourselves. Sometimes it's out loud but more often it is not. Every time we face a difficult situation, when we are trying to pick which line in the grocery store to get in, and with every decision we face we spend a lot of time talking to ourselves. When we worry we are talking. When we delight we are talking. When we dream we are talking. Listen to what Frederick Buechner says about prayer.

Everybody prays whether [he/she] thinks of it as praying or not. The odd silence you fall into when something very beautiful is happening or something very good or bad. The ah-h-h! that sometimes floats up out of you as out of a Fourth of July crowd when the sky-rocket bursts over the water. The stammer of pain at somebody else’s pain. The stammer of joy at somebody else’s joy. Whatever words or sounds you use for sighing with over your own life. These are all prayers in their way.

Listening to Your Life, by Frederick Buechner

Try being mindful of a God who loves to hear us talk to Him. To discuss with Him your fears, failures, and successes. Try turning your self talk to God talk for your community. For the community along with you to sense God's presence all around you and move through all of your lives.

Try talking (praying) today.