Working for it
Are you looking forward to getting back to work?
All this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate one does not know. Everything that confronts them is vanity, since the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to those who sacrifice and those who do not sacrifice. As are the good, so are the sinners; those who swear are like those who shun an oath. This is an evil in all that happens under the sun, that the same fate comes to everyone. Moreover, the hearts of all are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they have any share in all that happens under the sun. Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. - Ecclesiastes 9:1-10
The wisdom of Sirach in the Book fo Ecclesiastes reminds us that no matter what we do or how we behave in this life, we end up the same way.
That could be depressing, right? But we know the reward for how we choose to live in this life lies in the next and for eternity.
Since he doesn't believe there lies anything beyond this life, Sirach says, we should enjoy this life as much as we can. I believe there is a way to enjoy this life and still prepare a way for us to enjoy eternal life with Christ.
Jesus told the parable of the rich man who died and saw poor Lazarus across the abyss being rewarded with eternal life while he suffered in Sheol.
Once we die, we lose the ability to change for the good.
So, why not make the most of this life in more than one way, by helping others?
It's like hedging our bets, right? If we treat everyone as we would want them to treat us, we have a better chance of achieving eternal bliss.
It's something to think about.
More to come...