Take Some Advice

I wasn't entirely sure what to blog about tonight, so I decided to just open the Bible and see what I found. While flipping through, I came upon Ecclesiastes, and I started to read a bit of it. In reading snippets, it seems as the author (probably Solomon) was in a state of depression or maybe just a bitter old man when he wrote the book. But as I read a bit more, that wasn't the case at all.

OK, maybe Solomon was an old man, and likely very cynical at this point in his life, but just like Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes offers much wisdom. Solomon is almost unanimously regarded as the wisest man that ever lived, and he received that knowledge directly from God upon request.

All too often we get wrapped up in trying to be the best at everything. We must win the game, get the job, get the girl. What does it profit us? Solomon says nothing, because all is vanity. I can't count how many times people become depressed and vainly look for "the meaning of life," or fill a void with something that as Solomon wrote, is "grasping at the wind." In other words, we are looking and searching for something we think will make us happy but can never attain it.

If we believe Solomon is the wisest man that ever lived, maybe we should take his advice. In 2:26, he wrote "For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight..."

Ecclesiastes is an interesting book. Like I said before, reading a verse here and there doesn't provide the full scope and can give a wrong impression. But read it start to finish and it really is beautiful. Not only does it offer advice, but it explains and depicts the eternal majesty and power of God.