Ecclesiastes - Men’s Bible Study Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014

 

1.    "All is meaningless" indicates that purpose, intention, striving and ambition that defers today for tomorrow is mistaken. Instead the best one can achieve is to make the most of each alloted day and each alloted relationship or opportunity to do good. You can not take your accumulated food, goods, or cash equivalents with you after death. Neither can you do anything more lasting and useful than to make a difference in another person's life with a kind word or deed, or being part of an institution that works in that direction. This "in the moment" mindset echoes the "give us this day our daily bread" idea of a moderated or measured amount; not to conserve excess but do use what is at hand. Just so one's striving should be moderated and measured, enough for this day, not for all eternity.

2.    The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism described the way that many adherents see themselves and their peers in material terms; that one's prominence in the world is a sign of one's blessing by God's hand (and absence of material accumulation, by implication, would indicate lack of blessing). Yet Ecclesiastes goes against this by declaring such chasing after the wind to be pointless, meaningless, not of lasting value or enduring significance.

3.    Among the "seven deadly sins" is sloth, with is not so much a slowness to break a sweat in one's task as it is an aimless, distracted or dissipated output. Deadly means "dead to God's way" due to misdirection or falling from the mark (literal meaning of sin is 'missing the target'), not earthly mortality in simple terms. And so, when viewed through the lens of Ecclesiastes, "all is meaningless; chasing after wind," this idea of slothful action fits the picture of endlessly spinning one's wheels and not moving in any direction.

4.    Buddhism teaches one to let go of desires and to seek a mindset of "non-striving," just being right here, right now; fully present and mindful of the glory and majesty of the living things one is part of. Perhaps this "non-striving" (the inverted admonition: Don't just do something, stand there) is consonant with Ecclesiastes since one should strive only one day at a time, not all one's waking hours until statutory retirement age and entitlements or pension kick in.

again - knowledge vs. wisdom

Men's Bible Study is finishing up Book of Job (ch. 38), one of the so-called 'wisdom books' of the Bible.
From here we may go to another from the set, Ecclesiastes, to glimpse more of God's ways; alternatively we may next do Exodus which is among the oldest books, along with Genesis and Job.
 
Knowledge often is about mastery and controlling one's environment/ecosystem. As such it is like the motorboat or steam ship with its self-propelled path.
Knowledge is Power comes to mind, as well; the idea that possessing a particular set of information, organized into useful and actionable chunks will support one's status or authority. In sum, knowledge is about action.
 
Wisdom may contrast these several dimensions: (1) not controlling the terms but instead working with them (judo, not boxing; sailing, not steaming; ballooning not jetting), (2) not power to wield or status to defend, but rather humility and steadfastness, (3) not ownership but a shared commons or connective humanity that implicates all stakeholders, as well as those not directly involved but affected secondarily.

Water to visualize God

Pillar of smoke by day and fire by night is one form God has taken in the Bible. Bright light or burning bush is another form. But there are many qualities of water as found on Earth that give shape to some of the important attributes of God as people have put into words and handed down the generations.

(1) Takes many forms (solid, liquid, vapor, also ?plasma),
(2) Each form that it takes has different properties and powers and contexts,
(3) life-giving,
(4) beautiful, clear and pure,
(5) majestic vastness and precious is a single drop,
(6) a public good or right,
(7) something for all, no matter their status or place in life,
(8) comprising a great part of each person's physical self.