Is Life Meaningless????

We are all searching for something- whether you realize it or not, we all want a purpose for living, we all want to matter for something or to someone.

What is the point of my life? How can I know what I am supposed to do?

At some point in life, I am sure you have asked these questions. I catch myself asking these things on a regular basis. It is easy to get down or discouraged when you concentrate on finding the right answers. The discouragement comes because too often, the answers remain unfound. We find ourselves at the dead end of a long and tiring search.

Last week, we began a new series in Ecclesiastes. King Solomon concludes that this life is meaningless-Ecclesiastes 1:2 - “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

In the opening of King Solomon’s book, he asks- What is the purpose of life? As we continue through the next few chapters, we see that his conclusion is this: Life without Christ is a meaningless cycle of events!

Meaningless cycles:

As I was preparing for this lesson, I tried to think of some meaningless cycles in my own life. I could think of a wide variety of things that I do everyday which ultimately have no significant value:

1.)    Watching TV

2.)   checking my friends face book updates or check ins

3.)   Pinterest create a “dream wedding” board

4.)   Trash Talk Radio Shows- like the Rolla and Ryan’s Roses show. (Don’t be afraid to admit you know what I am talking about!)

I could think of other cycles that might have a little more significance- but will be meaningless when we die:

1)      Filling the car with gasoline- a constant cycle of full to empty

2)     Sleeping- a constant cycle of rested to tired

3)     Working- more like a constant flow to the email inbox!

4)     Dating- a constant cycle of bad to worse date… or awkward to extremely uncomfortable conversations!! (haha)

My point is that Life is full of these cycles or these daily habits. We put so much significance on these things that we can forget these “cycles” are just filling our temporary time on this earth. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes- We all will pass, and the things we do will ultimately NOT MATTER- they will be forgotten! 

Not to be morbid, but Christian or non Christian, we all know- ultimately we will die! There is no way to avoid it. So most of us have thought- “what happens next- after death?” For Christian’s we find hope in death, because death, to us, is actually life. When we die, we will be in Heaven with our savior. In Philippians, chapter 1 verse 21 Paul says: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

I want you to just think about these questions: What am I living for? What meaning do I find in life? What will matter after I die?

It is natural for us to focus on the here and now. In the moment it is difficult to think about how this choice will affect my future- does this activity honor the Lord? Yes we should live IN the present; but many of us live FOR the present- We seek immediate satisfaction in worldly and temporary pleasures.

As I was driving one day this week, I heard a really old song on the radio and I thought- What is this? Who sang this? And it made me think- All these accomplishments like “number one hit”- these accomplishments may bring us glory but who remembers 1, 2, 10, 50 years later?

For decades, the music industry has listed the years “top billboard hits” – Can any of you tell me who sang the following #1 hits and in what year:

·         “Whip it”- Devo (1980)

·         “The Time of my life” from dirty dancing- Bill Medley (1987)

·         “Don’t worry, be happy”- Bobby McFerrin (1988)

It is obvious that the music industry has drastically changed over the years-

·         1877: the Phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison

o    only good for a one time only playback and the sound quality was terrible

·         1887: the Gramophone was invented by Emile Berliner

o   He was the first inventor to start recording on flat discs or records

·         1963- the Cassette player- Made popular by RCN Records

o   You were now able to listen to music on the go- still had to rewind if you wanted to listen again

·         1982- The first CD (compact disk) was released

o   Does anyone know who was the first artist to release his single on CD?- Billy Joel’s
“52^nd Street”

o    Now, who still buys CDs?

·         1996- Audio Highway, device called “Listen up”- the first digital music player

·         2000- Napter allowed people to easily share song files with each other. This new program led to the music industries drop in recording sales

·         2001- iPod

·         2003- ITunes apple released the online music store to go along with the new iPod.

·         2013- Now some of your phones can hold 16GB of music- 40 hours!

So what is next?

You may think- well I don’t really follow the music industry “top charts” much…. I follow sports or movies or whatever it may be… and you may be thinking: “I will never forget who_(fill in the blank)__ is.” Well- What did your great-great grandparents do for a living, do you know their names? That is your family!!…. So 100 years from now who will remember you?

 It is pretty depressing when you think about it this way… Ecclesiastes addresses this issue- even the King questioned his life’s purpose!

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon realizes that we focus way too much on ourselves. Where are our priorities? A year from now, who is going to remember our efforts? So if everything is meaningless, how do we find fulfillment?

In chapter 2 we see that the answer isn’t pleasures: Ecclesiastes 2:10-11: I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

 We see that Wisdom & Knowledge are not the answer:  Ecclesiastes 2:16- For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten! Like the fool, the wise too must die!

We see that see that hard work is not the answer:  Ecclesiastes 2:21-23- For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

So then the question remains…. What is the answer? What is the purpose of our life and how/where do we find fulfillment? Or simply- how can we just be content where we are?

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11- I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

This verse tells us that we cannot find fulfillment in earthly pleasures, in knowledge, or in hard work- we still feel empty once we attain these things because they are not eternal. Our stuff, our trophies and awards, they do not come with us when we die. So we feel empty even when we attain the things we seek.

Emptiness is a symptom of allowing worldly pressures and pleasures to get a foothold. When we fail to make time for intimate fellowship with Christ life feels incomplete. Why? We were never meant to find fulfillment in earthly things. God has set eternity in our hearts- Deep down, we long for something that will last!

Temporary “clutter” robs our time- distracts us from the Lord. Instead of pursing a relationship with him or sharing his love with others, we fall into a self-centered trap: “Chasing the Wind.”

So how do we overcome this meaningless habit?? Three things we are instructed to do:

Ecclesiastes 5:1- Guard your steps when you Go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

Guard- GO- Listen

1.)  Guard your steps

·          First and foremost-Worship begins with an attitude of reverence- our hearts have to be made right before Him; thus we have to be free from clutter!

·         I believe one way we guard our steps is by clearing our lives from this clutter and focus on things drawing us closer to Christ. With reason, we need to remove activities and goals that distract us from pursuing and deepening a relationship with Him. I am speaking to myself mostly… my life is full of activities that are meaningless!

Proverbs 4:25-27 “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” 

2 Corinthians 5:6-10- Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

2.) Go to the house of God

·         Secondly, we have to build a relationship with Him. When we are seeking Christ our focus will shift away from ourselves. We will trust in His purpose for our lives: 1) Worship Him and 2) Love others.

Matthew 22:34-40: Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

·         It doesn’t say our purpose is to make money, get married, live in a nice house, drive a nice car, or travel the world. It doesn’t even say our purpose is to go on hundreds of mission trips- No our purpose, our “greatest command” is to Love God and Love others- no matter where we are! If we do these two things- then we will have fulfilled the reason for our existence.

John 17:26  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

3.) Listen

·         Why are we to guard our steps? And why are we to go to the House of God? “Go near to listen!”

·         Listen- “Rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools who do not know that they do wrong.” What Solomon is saying is this- Foolish people are marked by two things.

1.)    First, they don’t realize worship includes everything they do!

·         They think worship is limited- formal gathering/ singing

2.)   Second, they don’t listen

·         They don’t listen to what God has to say. And because of that, they don’t even know what they’re doing is wrong.

·         They don’t know why they feel empty?

·         They desperately searching for contentment.

Paul says that, “Faith comes through hearing the Word of God.”

Romans 10:17- Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

When we Guard our Steps, Go to the Lord, and Listen- we are able to Trust Him! No matter what life throws at us we will be content! In Philippians 4- Paul says he has learned the secret to being content- Trusting God!

Philippians 4:11-13: For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I was listening to one of Ben Stuart’s- breakaway podcasts the other day and heard a story about a man (lets call him Joe) who understood the secret to contentment. Joe had to have his appendix removed- a serious issue, but a routine surgery for the doctors. Well apparently something went wrong during this surgery and Joe had to have several more surgeries to correct the issue.

Joe did not come from a lot of money, he was already working overtime to pay off student loans, and after these surgeries he found himself buried in debt. One day, on his drive home, he was overwhelmed with fear- His prayer sounded like: “Lord, I don’t know how I can pay for all this, I am anxious but God I trust you- God I trust that you are with me and that you will provide a way.”

Joe understood that trusting God didn’t mean life is perfect. To be content, doesn’t mean you will never complain, never be anxious or fearful, and it doesn’t mean you will never wish you had something more- in Joe’s case he wished he had more money to pay off his debt.

Contentment means when fears, burdens, and desires enter our lives, that our first reaction is to give them to God. When we trust Him, we say Lord- I trust you with this… you will provide exactly what I need and I need nothing but you.

Contentment is trusting that God has your best interest- When He is what we long for, we don’t need anything else!

Anyways, back to the story- so Joe has this conversation with God, gives the Lord his burdens and continues driving home. A few minutes later he sees a woman on the side of the road with a flat tire. Joe decides even though he has his own problems to worry about that he should still be a kind person and ask if she needs any help. So he pulls over and offers to change her tire.

As he is changing her tire they start talking and he discovers that she is in fact the president of the hospital where he has been treated. That evening he received a call from the hospital- All his debt to the Hospital had been cleared-He didn’t owe a single penny! WOW!! CHILLS- GOD IS AMAZING! That cannot be a random coincidence!

When we join God’s team- we are content because we know that He is ALWAYS on our side!

Matthew 28:20- “surely I am with you always”