Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him - for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is a gift of God.

He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, NIV (1978)

 

As we were getting up and about this morning, I made a comment to my wife how nice it was that we didn't have any interruptions today. Like everyone else, the holiday season is hectic for us, and it seems like every day had been filled with visitors and family gatherings. It would be nice just to be alone and get caught up a bit on some of the big projects we had going.

 

It only took a moment or two of thought before I had to modify my statement. Family and friends are not "interruptions": they are a big part of what makes life so pleasant!

 

I remember reading a little article from the Reader's Digest right after Carolyn and I were married in 1982. It was so impactful to me at the time that I cut it out and kept it on my desk in my office. It said something along the lines of this: "I used to couldn't wait for my life to begin. There was always some unfinished piece of business that needed to be attended to, children to be raised, some big project that needed getting through, some pressing work that needed to be done. Then, life would begin! After many years it finally dawned on me: These things were my life".

 

This little thought that made such an impression on me as a young man, means even more to me some 40+ years later. We have finished our earlier business, raised our kids and sent them off to their own homes to do the same, completed a million projects, and have taken care of that infinite amount of pressing work that just had to be done. And now? Well now it seems that life is even busier with more work, events, projects and family than ever.

 

And, as I sit here writing this, I realize that these things really are my life and that it is a pretty good life at that. The interruptions that I referenced are a big part of what has made life so fine, and I wouldn't want it any other way. It's true that there are times that it seems that life does get a bit too busy, but that's okay. We really haven't had a lot of spare time to think about how life was passing us by, or that we had somehow been cheated.

 

I think the main reason for this is that God has privileged us to be Christians. That gives a needed perspective that the physical things are not what we are really here for in the first place, but that the physical things are kind of nice to enjoy so long as we keep them in their proper place. In the passage above, Solomon is not saying, "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die". Instead, he is saying to enjoy and appreciate the blessing that God has given you - including the interruptions - for these are the things that help make life bearable. 

 

In short, the interruptions are in reality God's way of keeping us occupied with gladness of heart. And someday, there will be heaven! I wonder what kind of interruptions we will have there...

And the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine... should I not be concerned about this great city?"

Jonah 4:10-11

 

Nearly all of us grew up with the story about Jonah and the whale (okay, "great fish" for you biologists) and we remember in vivid detail the first part of the story. We remember how God told Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh, but that Jonah disobeyed and fled by boat in the opposite direction. We remember that Jonah was cast into the sea by his shipmates, but how God then provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. We all remember about how three days later when the fish spit Jonah onto dry land and how when God told Jonah a second time to go and preach to Nineveh that Jonah did indeed go.

 

Most of us even remember how Jonah's preaching was effective, and how the Assyrians repented of their sins and that the entire city of Nineveh was spared from God's wrath. But, do we remember what came next?

 

After the city was spared, Jonah went up to a high place that overlooked the city to see if God might go ahead and destroy the city anyway. This was what Jonah was wanting because the Assyrians were enemies of the Jews, so he was hoping against hope that God would wipe them out. While he waited, we read of an almost comical event: It was hot, so God provided a plant to provide shade for Jonah. We are told that Jonah was very happy about this plant, but that his joy soon turned to sorrow when the plant died. God then asked Jonah if he had any right to be angry about that plant and Jonah told God that he did have that right - that he was angry enough to die!

 

And this is the point that the true lesson of this entire event was taught. God told Jonah that he was concerned about a dead vine that he hadn't even planted in the first place. Shouldn't then God be concerned about a great city filled with people - including little children? 

 

Strangely, the narrative stops here. We are not told what Jonah's reply to God was. We are not told whether he was still angry with God's concern for a people who were his enemy, or even if he ever got over the untimely demise of that stupid plant. The story just ends at this point, and we are left with nothing but speculation as to what happened next. Many of us will just leave it at that. We might have a small curiosity about the matter, but nothing more. The point is, though, that we need something more!

 

We need to realize that we are often just as petty and self-centered as was Jonah. The fact is that most of us are more concerned with whether or not we feel good, or if it is warm or cool enough for our comfort, than we ever are for the millions of lost and endangered souls in this world. Like Jonah, we are all too aware of our personal needs and desires, but we often fail to see the people who have real trials in life. And I'm not just talking about people who are going through hard times on the other side of the world, either. Like Jonah, sometimes the people whose souls are at risk are right next to us, or at the bottom of the tall hill that we might find ourselves perched on.

 

The main lesson of Jonah is not the big fish! It is that Jonah was more concerned about his petty comforts than he was the eternal souls of the masses. Jonah should have had a great satisfaction in the role he played in convincing these people to repent so that they would not be lost. More importantly, he should have been eternally grateful to God for His mercy in sparing these people. Instead, Jonah was angry enough to die because he was too hot and too tired to care about the big picture.

 

And I have to admit, that this picture of this pitiful little man who cared more for his immediate comfort than he did for other people's souls is in reality... a picture of me! And that is something we all need to think about a little more often, wouldn't you agree?

How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?

Psalms 116:12, NIV (1978)

Offer unto God thanksgiving

Psalms 50:14, KJV

 

We owe God a debt of thanksgiving. Are we repaying this debt?

 

This is a question that I think we all need to answer. It is easy at this time of year, because people are more focused upon the holiday of Thanksgiving, and therefore the concept of giving that thanks. But are we truly thankful on a regular basis? Do we daily pause to offer the Lord our thanksgiving for all of His goodness towards us?

 

I know that I fail far too often at this privilege. I focus on the things that aren't going right. From the minor health issues that I might be struggling with, to the constantly rising prices on necessities that must be paid, and from the things I see others doing that don't meet my satisfaction, to the seemingly insatiable appetite the governing authorities have for taxing me. You and I could list dozens more things that are annoyances in our lives, but you get the point. We are often too quick to dwell on the things that aren't going our way, and too slow to recognize the many things that are.

 

But I have found this truth to be helpful: when we give attention to the manifold blessings that God has showered upon our loves, and when we regularly pause to offer thanksgiving to Him for these gifts, we find ourselves spending less and less time on what we don't have, and more and more time on what we do. And this causes us to overflow with thankfulness!

 

Just consider for a moment what we have been given. Most of us have beautiful families. We have been given wonderful health. We have rarely gone hungry (other than in those pesky teenage years). So many of us have been able to enjoy annual vacations, the seasonal excitement of athletics, and the countless daily pleasures that are too numerous to mention. God has thought of every rightful blessing for our enjoyment! But His blessings go way beyond these physical things! He has allowed us to worship Him on a weekly basis. He has set aside the first day of the week for us to remember the great gift of salvation that has come through His grace and Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. As if that wasn't enough, He has given us His holy word that answers clearly every question we might have as to how to be saved, how to worship, and how to live our daily lives.

 

And then He has given one more gift that is almost incomparable to all the privileges mankind has ever been bestowed with: He has given us the ability to speak with Him, any time, day or night. If that were not enough, He goes beyond merely bestowing this privilege in that He actually wants us to talk to Him. He wants us to present our rightful requests to Him. And though He knows far better than do we what we are needing, He wants us to voice those desires to Him, directly, through the avenue of prayer. 

 

And in all of these things, He wants us to be (and He expects us to be) thankful.

 

We are in the season for thanksgiving at the present. As I write this article, we have another Thanksgiving coming up this very Thursday. Most of us will gather around the table and offer the Lord our thanksgiving. We will express our gratitude for all of His blessings, and we will likely make a big deal of offering a special prayer before our "big meal" to do so. But then the rest of the day will be ours to watch the parades and the games and the Christmas specials. We will likely eat several big meals on this day, and graze in between. These things are all well and good, and entirely appropriate for us to enjoy in the proper measure, but do we think of this:

 

Do we think about how truly blessed we are, and do we make a conscience effort to pause several times each day throughout the year to offer our thanksgiving to the Giver of our lifelong feast?

 

Or are we much more likely to pause several times a day, every day of the year, to complain about the things that are not going to our satisfaction? 

 

You see, thanksgiving is not just a day, but it is a habit. When we lose this habit (or when we fail entirely to acquire it in the first place) we become a most ingrateful people indeed. Without this habit of continual thanksgiving, we become selfish and petulant and dissatisfied. But we become something even less unattractive than these: we become deadbeats! For there is a fact in life that no decent person should ever forget: We are highly blessed, dearly loved children of the One who has created us and who gives us our every rightful desire. Because of this we must realize that we owe Him a tremendous debt of gratitude that can never really be repaid. 

 

But we must at least try!

 

And so, when we consider that eternal question uttered by the Psalmist thousands of years ago, "How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me?", the answer is that we really cannot... but we need to try. And the way we can best do that is to have a heart filled with continual thanksgiving towards the Lord Who blesses us so richly each day. And even though this debt of thanksgiving can never be fully repaid, unlike our mortgages and car loans, it is a joy and a privilege to render each installment of these payments whenever we have the occasion to do so. 

 

For those of us who are Christians, we are genuinely the most blessed people to have ever lived. We have our daily baskets filled with blessings that overflow far beyond anything we could possibly deserve. We have a loving Father and a loving Savior! If that were not enough, we also have the prospect of an eternity with Them, if we will simply do our part. And one of the most important aspects of "our part" is the daily privilege (and duty) of thanksgiving!

 

Isn't God good! Let us be sure to be thankful for all of that goodness! 

Do not wear yourself out to get rich, have the wisdom to show restraint.

Proverbs 23:4, NIV (1978)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

I Timothy 6:6-7, KJV

 

When Russel Conwell was a young man, he had the rare opportunity to travel the world. He ended up with an old, crusty guide who was not particularly impressed with this young man of privilege who appeared to be idling his time away in aimless wandering while other folks toiled for their living. So, this old guide told young Mr. Conwell a story with a moral - the very type of story that the youth was rapidly growing tired of listening to from this meddling old man. That weariness came to an abrupt end when the guide shared with him a true story of adventure and disappointment.

 

The tale was of a man named Al Hafed, a man who owned a nice piece of land in India. Al Hafed, the old guide shared with Mr. Conwell, was wealthy and contented. He was content because he was wealthy, and he was wealthy because he was contented. This came to an end when an ancient priest visited the homestead of Al Hafed and told him about diamonds. He said that a large diamond could make a man truly rich, and a mine of diamonds could set his sons on thrones with the wealth of kings.

 

That night, Al Hafed went to his bed feeling poor and discontented. He was discontented because he thought he was poor, and he was poor because he was discontented!

 

The next day, the priest left but his tale of wealth remained. Al Hafed eventually decided that he wanted to have the wealth that a diamond mine would bring, so he sold his property and began to travel the world in search of diamonds. The old priest had even told Al Hafed where to look. He had said that if one could find a stream with white sands, running at the juncture of two valleys, that there one would find diamonds. Al Hafed searched for years trying to find such a place and spent every penny of his money in an unsuccessful effort to do so. Finally, in a fit of depression, Al Hafed took his own life. He died poor and discontented.

 

Meanwhile, as they say, back at the ranch, the new owner of the property that had previously been owned by Al Hafed was out watering his camel in a stream that ran through a portion of that property. The camel was nosing through some white sand that made up the bottom of that stream when his rider noticed something shiny - a pretty rock! The owner brought it back and set it on the mantle of his fireplace to dry but thought little more of it. That is, until the old priest came by for a visit. 

 

When the priest spied the rock, he became very excited. "A diamond", he cried, "Al Hafed has found his diamonds! Has Al Hafed come back?" The man just looked at him and told him that Al Hafed had not returned, and that this was no diamond. But the priest insisted and that is how the initial discovery of the first diamond from the world-famous Golconda mine was made. The Golconda diamond mine in India was the most renowned of its time. From it, came many of the Crowned Jewels of the royal throne of England. The most expensive diamond of its era - the Koh-i-Noor diamond came from this mine.

 

It was truly a mine that produced wealth enough for its owner to place his sons upon thrones, and Al Hafed had sold it for a pittance. The old guide told Russell Conwell this story in an effort to teach him a lesson - a lesson that was not lost, by the way, on young Russell. It was a lesson that we don't need to search the world over for happiness, when happiness is residing all the time in our own back yard.

 

In the passages above, Solomon entreats us not to wear ourselves out to become rich. A thousand years later, the Apostle Paul tells us why. It is because godliness with contentment is great gain. And the immeasurable wealth of the godly life is readily available to us all - in fact, you might say it resides in our own back yard. The key to this treasure is an understanding and application of the Word of God - the Bible! And all we have to do to access this treasure is to read the word, and then do what it says.

 

Have you been wearing yourself out to become rich because you think it will make you happy, only to have failed miserably for the effort? If so, maybe it is time to search for your contentment and true wealth from the only source that such blessings have ever been found. It begins by simply opening up your Bible and reading!