January 14, 2024   NOTES NOT EDITED

Don’t Waste Your Life

Ecclesiates 12:1-8

SIS – Make your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ the number one priority in your life so that you will not waste your life on that which is meaningless and empty.

We Americans love do-overs --options, choices, second chances. Our culture has tried to erase the concept of FAILURE by adding the “Infamous Participation Trophy” to sports. Even the referees’ judgments don’t always stand because football coaches have red flags and extra officials are assigned to video replay every call.  Typewriters and white-out have been replaced by the UNDO arrow on the Edit drop-down menu. Life has no inconvenient consequences to our actions—or, at least we’d like to think so.

But, is there nothing in our existence that is “irrevocable?”  Is there anything in which there are very real consequences?  I think there is such a thing:  it is called, “life.”  We do not get a “do-over” if the path we choose in life does not turn out like we hope.  Time, like tootpaste, can’t be put back.  A bullet cannot be “unshot” once it leaves a gun.  Even for believers, there is always the danger of a “wasted life.”  Thank God a wasted life does not have to mean a “wasted eternity,” but a wasted life is painful, nonetheless.

We can avoid wasting our lives by starting today to live each moment in absolute surrender to Almighty God.  We can avoid wasting our lives by bringing every desire and every decision into complete captivity to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  The best time to do this is in our youth – though anytime is the right time to make a decision to redirect one’s life and avoid a life of regrets.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is considered by some to be the most “negative” book in the Bible.  It is not a “negative” book at all, but a painfully honest book.  Solomon, has come to the end of his life after a glorious career as one of the most significant kings in Israel – second only to King David, his father.

But, Solomon with all his fame and fortune was not without regret.  He had made many mistakes and had wandered some great distance from God’s intended purpose for his life.  Solomon had sought meaning in wisdom, in pleasures, and in accomplishments – all of which he had in great abundance.  His final evaluation of these ‘worldly things” is summed up in the phrase, “meaningless, meaningless” which is repeated about 34 times.

In this final chapter, this great man in his final days, gives a final plea to all who would come after: “Don’t Waste Your Life.”  In a three-part poem Solomon exhorts each of us to “be careful how we live.”  Today, I want to emphasize this message to our youth, but I want each of us to take thought of our ways in light of Solomon’s three part exhortation on how NOT to waste one’s life.

Part 1 begins with the plea to REMEMBER THE CREATOR especially when you are young (1)

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say,“I find no pleasure in them” 

One man, visiting a psychiatrist, complained, "Doctor, I can't seem to remember from one minute to the next." "And how long have you had this problem?" the psychiatrist asked.  The man replied, "What problem?"

Memory fades the longer we live. But, the word “remember” refers to something more than just being able to recall facts. It is a word that calls for reflection on the importance of an issue or event, not just the recollection of it. It is more of a “call to action than a call to remembrance. 

For example, when a teacher says,  “remember there will be a test on Friday,” it is not just to mark Friday as a special day, but to encourage the students to “take some action – that is, to study.”

One scholar describes “remember” like this:  “Over 200 instances of this verb can be found in the Hebrew Bible. In a majority of cases, the act denoted by this verb is more than recollection. In most instances, the act of “remembrance” is an act of covenantal or legal obligation, which leads to a present act.”

The command to “remember” is a warning.  To “remember the Creator” is a call to examine how one is living one’s life.  Such a remembrance is a call to recognize Who God is:  the Creator.  As the Creator, He has complete and sovereign control of our lives.  As the Creator, He has given us clear commands as to how we should live our lives.  As the Creator, He has given us a clear warning of impending judgment.

It is very frustrating to forget names, birthdates, or why you got up and went to the other room.  Memory loss is a big problem all of us face as we grow older.

Solomon begins with the word, “remember.” It is the key to understanding the 12^th chapter, and the theme of the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is even more broadly a key to understanding why we have the entire Bible. It is not so that we would KNOW HISTORY but that we would KNOW GOD.  “Remembering” is about having a relationship not recalling facts.  Solomon tells us “WHO to remember,” and “WHEN” to remember.  We are to remember God, the Creator, and we are to remember Him starting in our youth and continuing all our days. Verse 1 could be interpreted, “Focus intently upon Your Creator beginning in your youth and continuing all your days.”

Part one of this poem is a ‘warning’ that God is the Creator and we as creatures have a responsibility to live in a way that pleases Him.  We should not waste one moment of our lives living in a way that does not please God, our Sovereign Creator. 

Part 1 begins with a warning about to Whom we should devote our every waking moment of life.  

2.  PART 2 is a REASSESSMENT which naturally follows “REMEMBERING” our duty and devotion to Our Creator. What happens when we ALL realize, we haven’t “REMEMBERED” God like we should have? We all FALL SHORT. That’s when we need a REASSESSMENT.

To demonstrate the urgency of this REASSESSMENT, Solomon places the diamond of truth on the black backdrop of OLD AGE. This poetic device increases the contrast between what we should be doing and what we did not do. By putting this truth on the dark backdrop of impending old age, the Preacher Solomon drives home the URGENCY OF DAILY DEVOTION TO GOD. 

Life is not like a pond, that can become stagnant with no new water flowing into it. REASSESSMENT allows new water to flow into the pond of our lives.  This is the blessing of a Sabbath Day—a day to reassess, repent, and resolve to do better.

Verses 2 through 7 outline (in a rather unflattering way) what every person has to look forward to “someday.”  This analysis is indeed discouraging if you don’t embrace it as the natural course of life in a sin-shattered world and make adjustments accordingly. This section is like putting the word, REMEMBER, in bold letters. We cannot stand on our past relationship with God. We need to collect the “manna of life” on a daily basis (Exodus 16:4). If we “waste” our yesterdays we put our tomorrows in jeopardy—not in regard to the salvation of our souls—but in regard to the rewards for our devotion.

Here’s How the Preacher Puts the Matter in BOLD PRINT.

V2:  The sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;

Solomon may have in mind the dreary days of the Palestinian winter, as a metaphor of the “winter season of life.”  The writer intends to show that old age is not as wonderful as some may naively believe it to be.  Old Age is a difficult time in life.  I read a bumper sticker once that said, Old Age IS NOT FOR SISSIES.

Just as one dreary day of winter clears, more clouds and rain follow.  Getting old, for most is a great challenge. Don’t WASTE today!

V3a when the keepers of the house tremble,

The “keepers of the house” refer to the hands – which are used to clean, dust, and keep a house.  In regard to the aging process the “trembling” refers to the general unsteadiness of age. For some the shaking is worse than for others, but we all lose a little dexterity with the accumulating years.

V3b “the strong men stoop”

This refers to the legs and back, but particularly the legs.  We get wobbly as the years go on and our ‘strong men’ bend and bow under the weight of many years.

V3c  “the grinders cease because they are few”

Age takes a great toll on the teeth.  Very few people end life with as many teeth as they had as teens, and some end with the same number they were born with – none!  There are less teeth to “grind our food.”

V3d  “and those looking threw the windows grow dim.”

We’ve all heard the statement:  “the eyes are the windows to the soul.”  I don’t know how true that might be but this is absolutely true:  as you get older, your vision gets dimmer. 

We’re not even halfway through the list of challenges associated with Old Age, and I’m depressed!  The only thing that gives me hope against the ravages of growing old is:  I like the alternative even less!

V4a  when the doors to the street are closed

Beyond one’s door lies all the daily activity of people coming and going, doing business, building stuff, and the like.  As we get older, we lose our hearing.  It’s like someone “shuts the door” to the outside world, like all the activity at the grinding mill 

V4b  “men rise up at the sound of birds.”

This is probably a reference to the time of day, not to the creatures themselves.  It probably refers to the fact that as we age, “we have trouble sleeping,” and we seem to awake before the crack of dawn when the first birds begin to sing.  The Preacher hear shows the great irony of aging in this part of the verse.  Even though we wake at the slightest sound in the earliest of the day, because our hearing is not what it once was, we cannot even enjoy the sound of the birds.

An alternative interpretation of “all their songs grow faint” is “the daughters of song fail.”  This may refer to the fact that as we get older our voices get softer, to where our voice becomes little more than a whisper.

V5a  “men are afraid of heights and the dangers of the street”

This probably does not refer to tall buildings, which were few in those days, but refers to the fact that even small hills become like mountains as we age.  The reference to “danger in the streets” is a reminder that as we age, we do not have the physical strength to take on even the simplest of daily tasks – referred to as the “streets.”

V5b:  “the almond tree blossoms.” 

This is a reference to the fact that one’s golden locks turn silver, then white as we age.  Obviously, this is a general statement about aging (as everything in this passage is) because:  for some our hair doesn’t turn white – it turns loose!

V5c:  “the grasshopper drags himself along”

Grasshoppers are common in Palestine are identified by their characteristic back legs that are like two giant springs.  A grasshopper in general (and there are over 11,000 different types) can jump 20 times the length of their body.  This is the equivalent of a man jumping 100 feet!

But, as age piles years upon us, we are like a grasshopper dragging its weak legs behind it.  You might say that as we get older, “we lose the spring in our step.”

V5d  “desire is no longer stirred”

Like many of the phrases in this poem, this one gives scholars a bit of a challenge.  As we age, we are less passionate about things we were once very passionate about – like food.  Age sometimes robs one of his or her desire for food.  Nothing seems to taste good anymore.

An alternative to this interpretation comes from a literal reading of the text:  “the caperberry fails.”  The word for caperberry comes from the root meaning “willingness or satisfaction.”  The caperberry is the fruit of a common, thorny plant in Palestine.  It was thought to increase sexual desire.

When “the caperberry fails” the term “hot date” refers to a weather report, not a night of romance.

To say that the “caperberry has failed” simply refers to the fact that when we get old we realize that we have reached that time when our ‘get up and go dun’ got up and went.”

V5e  Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.

As we get to the end of verse 5, the writings on the wall as they say. The professional mourners have already been hired as death nears.  By this time in one's journey it is evident to all that death is near.

VV 6,7  Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, ⁷and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

The process of aging has come to the end.  Verses 6 and 7 taken together describe the final step in the process as the "breaking of the cord that holds the lamp which gives light to the house."  The lamp hits the floor and the light is extinguished.  Death has arrived as it does for all.

Verse 7 describes what takes place at the moment of death -- there is a "separation."  The physical and the spiritual separate leaving behind the lifeless body like a discarded garment.

All this talk about the process of death is intended to cause us to reflect upon how fleeting life on this earth is for all of us.  Sure, some live longer.  Some live shorter, but no one lives forever in this body.  The grave claims all mortal parts.

Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to be mindful of our mortality.  Psalm 39:4 for example says:

Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. 

The Book of James has something to say about the shortness and frailty of life:  (James 4:14)

What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." 

The point of this PART 2 is not to “moan and groan” about the ISSUES of old age, but to show the INEVITABILITY of old age. It is to “beat the drum of urgency” telling us to make the most of every moment TODAY. To NOT WASTE ANOTHER MINUTE ON ANYTHING THAT IS NOT ETERNAL.

In Part One, Solomon is moved of the Spirit to give us a warning:  “Remember God,” that is MAKE YAHWEH YOUR #1 PRIORITY.

In Part Two, Solomon outlines the ugly, unflattering process of aging so that we would reflect upon the importance of NOT WASTING OUR LIFE IN RIOTOUS, REBELLIOUS LIVING.

3.  Now, we are at Part 3.  REDIRECT your life.

The Poet declares in Verse 8:  “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!” 

This is the theme of Ecclesiastes -- life that is lived without complete and total surrender to God will end up "meaningless and empty."  34 times the Poet of Ecclesiastes uses this term to describe a godless life.

That’s the BAD NEWS. The GOOD NEWS is: it is never too late to REDIRECT your life toward full, unrestrained devotion to God!

We started out with a instruction: “Remember” the Lord when you are young. Many of us in this room are “not-so-young.” To put it bluntly, many of us in this room have long ago wasted the opportunities of youth—some teens are currently wasting that opportunity. Some in this room suffer from the proverbial affliction of age known as, “one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel!”

But, as negative as the Book of Ecclesiastes is—and most feel it has a shadow hanging over it—it is not utterly hopeless. At any point in life any person can “REDIRECT.” Any person can repent and start over. Here’s the beauty of this idea:

“One day in the house of the Lord is better than a thousand elsewhere."

Joel also promises, “I will restore the YEARS the moth has eaten . . .”

And, of course, who can forget the thief on the cross who had wasted all but the last minutes of his life. He repented and God REDIRECTED HIS LIFE. Jesus said,

“Today, you will be with me in Paradise! “

So, let’s all resolve today—the second Sunday of a New Year—I’m going to let the Holy Spirit have complete control of my life and REDIRECT it so I can bring honor and glory to God.

Today. Now. Not tomorrow. Not even this afternoon. NOW! Now is the time of salvation—in fact, no time exists but NOW! Yesterday’s gone, tomorrow on this earth may not come. NOW! Now is the time you can REDIRECT  your life away from meaninglessness to eternal Purpose. NOW.

Today we are particularly focused on our young people, but we can all REDIRECT our lives to put ourselves in better alignment with the will of God for our lives.

Young people:  if you never hear another word I ever say, hear this:  DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE LIVING FOR FUN, FAME OR FORTUNE.  Take thought of God and focus on Him like a laser.

You will be old before you know it.  DON'T WASTE THE PRECIOUS LIFE GOD HAS GIVEN TO YOU.

I pray that everyone here this morning:  especially our young people -- will REDIRECT our lives and place ourselves fully and completely into God's care.  Do it today.  Don't waste another minute.  The AGE CLOCK is ticking.  God may never move upon your heart like He has this morning.

One of the most moving stories I’ve ever read is about the great English missionary to Africa, Dr. David Livingston.  He opened up the Dark Continent with the light of the gospel as he brought the message and medicine to people that had never been touched by the outside world.

But, more remarkable than the adventure that characterized the way Dr. Livingston lived, was the way Dr. Livingston died.  After a long, exciting, challenging, fruitful ministry in Africa, they found Dr. Livingston dead in his hut.  Early on the morning of May 1, 1873, he was found dead, kneeling beside his bed. While doing God’s will, praying alone in a remote African hut, he was lifted up by God’s own hand to enjoy God’s very presence.

That my friends, is a life well-lived without any regrets or without the mournful song, “I shoulda, coulda, woulda.”

REMEMBER. REASSESS.  REDIRECT.

Start today -- right now -- making Jesus Christ the number one priority in your life and you will avoid wasting your time on earth on that which is meaningless and empty. 

If you REMEMBER and OBEY God you will live well and die even better!