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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Ecclesiastes 08: Why Try, When Others Dont?
What does it mean to maintain integrity in a world where cutting corners seems to lead to success? Join us as we unpack this profound struggle, guided by the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 8. We'll explore Solomon’s advice on living righteously, even when it feels like you’re the only one upholding these values. Discover the importance of respecting authority figures like employers, but without sacrificing your ethical standards, and delve into the frustration of witnessing the wicked prosper. Solomon’s message encourages us to remain committed to our principles, trusting that wisdom and integrity will ultimately lead us to a fulfilling life.
Have you ever felt discouraged by others seemingly getting ahead by taking shortcuts? Reflect with us on the timeless lesson of the tortoise and the hare, emphasizing the value of consistency over speed. Drawing inspiration from Ecclesiastes 12:13, we will discuss how steady and faithful efforts bring lasting success and fulfillment. Despite the temptation to compromise, Solomon’s wisdom reassures us that fearing God and obeying His commands is the true path to a meaningful life. We conclude with a heartfelt prayer for strength and faithfulness, reminding us that God sees our efforts and supports us in our journey. This episode aims to uplift and challenge you to stay true to your values, offering a beacon of hope in a world that often seems unjust.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, ecclesiastes, chapter 8, and today's title is why Try when Others Don't? Why Try when Others Don't? Have you ever felt like you were the only one in the room that was trying to live for God and have integrity and have values and all of that? It seems like everybody else is cutting corners, leaving work early, doing all the stuff, and you're like why am I trying so hard If everybody else is breaking the rules, why should I not break the rules? Well, what we can kind of see Solomon is starting to do is he's starting to transition from just being this mean old grouch he's like saying everything is bad and he's starting to switch over into kind of being a sage, kind of a guide on the side. He's giving us wisdom and he's going to answer the question today why try when others don't? If you've ever asked that question, we're going to get an answer from the wisest person to ever live and I can't wait to share it with you. I hope it's encouraging and maybe a little challenging as well. But, of course, as always, before we get into that, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us comments on the YouTube channel. We love interacting with you. That's me most of the time, who is doing the commenting and stuff, and so I love doing that. But, as always, the best way to connect with us is the Bible Breakdown Discussion Group on Facebook. There's an amazing team of people that are writing devotions every single day, and I can't think of a better way to start the day than to read those devotions, because they're encouraging, they're enjoyable, they're thought-provoking. You really need to do it. So make sure that, even if it's the only thing you do on Facebook, you go to the Bible Breakdown page and like it and then go to the discussion group, because, man, the more we dig, the more we find. So if you have your Bible.
Speaker 1:Speaking of that, and you want to open up with me to Ecclesiastes, chapter eight, don't forget that the overall goal, the theme of Ecclesiastes, is the key to a life well-lived, is a life full of God, and that's what Solomon is doing. Is he's? He's slowly building this case, and that's what Ecclesiastes means. It means the preacher. He is preaching a sermon and he's building the case of so many things that we do in our life is really? He calls it worthless, meaningless, chasing after the wind. Well, now, as we're in the second half of the book of Ecclesiastes, we see him starting to say okay, do this instead. And what we're going to see is he can answer that question.
Speaker 1:I don't know about you, but I've been in those places before where it seems like doing the right thing is just getting me further behind in life. It seems like everybody else that's cutting corners, that's doing all the things being slightly dishonest, all of that good people but making bad choices, all of that that it's helping them get ahead. And it feels like I'm just spinning my wheels and it's almost like you know, if I would just be a little bit, you know, kind of cheat here, cheat there, just like everybody else, then I could also get ahead. And if you ever felt that way, solomon is definitely feeling the tension and he's going to help us with this today. So, if you're ready, we're going to read about it in Ecclesiastes 8. So we're going to read about it in Ecclesiastes 8.
Speaker 1:So, if you've got your Bible, read out of the New Living Translation, verse 1 says this how wonderful to be wise and to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening its harshness. Obey the king, since you vowed to God that you would. Don't try to avoid doing your duty and don't stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. Those who obey him will not be punished, and those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right. For there is a time and a way.
Speaker 1:Question that many of us have had before. That is what do I do if, in this situation? He's talking about a king and a subject but in our reality, for most people who listen to this, it maybe could be better of what about a boss and an employee kind of situation? What do I do if I don't agree or I don't like my employer? According to Solomon, he's saying well, if you promise to go and work for this person, do what they say, unless it violates your character. Now, if it's a situation where they're telling you you've got to deny God or whatever, that's a whole different thing. But if it's like you think you should probably go left, but you really want to go right, well then you've got to go left. And he said if you will go and do what they want to do, then chances are you're going to find a way to right the ship at some point. So you just honor them, obey them, because that's what you said you were going to do, unless it causes you to have to violate your code of ethics. Right, all right, let's keep going.
Speaker 1:Verse nine he says I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. I have seen wicked people buried with honor, Yet they were the very ones who frequent the temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes. This, too, is meaningless. Here's the verse when a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it's safe to go do wrong. But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long life, I know that those who fear God will be better off. The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows. And it is not all that meaningless. And this is not all that is meaningless in our world, in this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless.
Speaker 1:So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people to do in this world than to eat and drink and enjoy life. That way, they will experience some happiness, along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun. In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people's burdens here on earth, I discover that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. I realize that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim. So there's a lot of great stuff that Solomon says and we're going to break these down, really says and we're going to break these down really quickly and we're going to focus on why try when others don't at the end.
Speaker 1:First of all, one of the things he said is I've noticed that just because people have a legacy of doing this or doing that doesn't necessarily mean they do. In other words, be so very careful when you listen to the stories of others, because they're usually always edited. There's someone who talks about how they worked so hard to become a millionaire. What they may not also tell you is that they started off as a millionaire, or that they did a lot of bad things to get there, otherwise you maybe wouldn't want to take their chance. Or on the other side, you may see somebody who hasn't accomplished a whole lot. In the eyes of people, yet they have an amazing legacy because they were faithful with what God had given them.
Speaker 1:So Solomon is saying be so very careful not to take too much stock in what other people say about other people, but instead take it all with a grain of salt. But instead take it all with a grain of salt. He also says to be very careful to not spend your entire life trying to get everything right. Do the best you can, but also have proper perspective. Realize that no one is ever going to be perfect. No one is ever going to get it right all the time. Do the best you can, but take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. What great wisdom for all of us. Right?
Speaker 1:And then to finish off with, he goes back to answer that question why try when others don't? He said in verse 11, he said when a crime is not punished quickly, people feel safe to do wrong. But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long life. I know that those who fear God will be better off. In other words, he's saying the wicked will not prosper because they don't fear God. And you may be pushing back and going, yeah, but I know the story of so-and-so and they should like they were prospering. But once again, remember what else he said. You never know the full story.
Speaker 1:I've talked to people before who, in the eyes of people, had an amazing life. They had tons of money, a beautiful family, all this stuff. But when I talk to them and as their pastor I would be more honest with me I would realize wow, they're miserable. They have all this stuff, but they have no joy. They have everything that you would want, but there's no contentment here that their life is constantly trying to get more, be more, have more, because they're trying to fill a void on the inside. So don't ever think about someone who has more than you or has gotten away with things as though they have gotten off scot-free. Their wounds may just be invisible to the human eye. Rather, he's saying no matter what it looks like on the outside, the reason why you try when others don't is because it's the right thing to do and because God's watching and it's God who ultimately rewards people.
Speaker 1:So when you see other people cutting corners and seemingly getting ahead, remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. If you have never heard the story before, I'm not going to retell it here, but the basic idea was that it was a race between a a tortoise, a turtle and a rabbit. Well, the rabbit is way faster than a turtle, right? So it seemed as though this is an easy race. Well, the race starts and it goes and and the. The way the story goes is that the rabbit, the hare he just constantly is running circles and he's going over here and doing that. And he's going over here and he's doing that because he's not really worried about the race, because obviously I'm going to win. Where the turtle? He just consistently and constantly keeps running the race and at the end of it spoiler alert the turtle wins.
Speaker 1:And the moral of the story is it doesn't matter how fast you are, what can you do consistently over time? And we wildly overestimate what we can do in the short term, but we wildly underestimate what we can do through a lifetime of faithfulness. I think that's what Solomon is trying to say to us in this chapter. Let's pray God. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you see us. You see us when we can sometimes feel invisible to everybody else.
Speaker 1:And so, god, even though sometimes the pressure can be hard and peer pressure is a real thing and you don't age out of it, I pray, god, you will give us the wisdom and the courage to continue to do the right thing, because it is the right thing To know, god, that you are with us and you're for us, and we can trust your timing in all things. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen, amen. Well, ecclesiastes 12, verse 13,. Solomon says this is my final conclusion Fearing God and obeying his commands. This is everyone's duty. He said you want to have a full life. Have a full life full of the goodness of God. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Ecclesiastes, chapter 9.
