R&V In the Word: What Comes Your Way Is Smoke

Read Ecclesiastes 11:1-8 MSG

Oh, how sweet the light of day,

And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!

Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.

Take delight in each light-filled hour,

Remembering that there will also be many dark days

And that most of what comes your way is smoke.”

Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 MSG

I am a huge fan of to-do lists. One of my favorite things to do as a consultant is to map out strategies and timelines for people. If you have a goal, I can identify what strategies we need to take, what we need to build, and when it all needs to be done in order to hit your ideal deadline. 

But after casting vision and writing a strategy, the hard work of execution begins. If you’ve been alive for more than six months, you’re well acquainted with the idea that things don’t always go the way you think they should.

Sure, my strategy says that we ought to be done with this project by such-and-such date, but that’s only if everything goes as planned.

When everything predictably does not go as planned, it’s easy to get bent out of shape. But my timeline! But my task list! But my color-coded spreadsheet! 

My perfectly calculated strategy and itemized to-do list usually becomes obsolete the minute I step away from it. Something is bound to happen that isn’t according to the plan.

So much of the teachings in Ecclesiastes seem to encourage people to stop holding on so tightly to The Plan. The Teacher calls all of our seeking and striving and pushing and planning vanity, chasing after the wind, or, in The Message paraphrase, smoke. Where does it get you, ultimately, The Teacher asks, except dead like everyone else? 

It seems like a bleak, cynical, and defeatist conclusion about life sandwiched there in the Bible’s Wisdom Literature, but out of this observation comes one of the most simple and freeing ways to live: stop taking everything so seriously. Enjoy the life God has given you, every single day of it, all of the daylight in it, delight in the gift of being. 

Jesus reinforced this idea in the Parable of the Bigger Barns (or Rich Fool). Both passages impress upon the reader to work hard but hold on loosely—you don’t know what’s going to happen next. You don’t know the results of your efforts. You don’t know which thing is going to succeed and which thing is going to flop. Work hard, but appreciate the joy of the journey.

“Most of what comes our way is smoke,” says the Teacher in Ecclesiastes, even your best-laid plans. So relax a little, would ya?

Points of Reflection

1. Do you tend to focus on the next step in your plan or are you much more rooted in the here and now? Both are important—what can you do to plan for the future while simultaneously being present in the moment?
2. How do the teachings from Ecclesiastes and the Parable of the Bigger Barns influence your view on work and life balance? In what ways can you apply the wisdom from these passages to find more peace and fulfillment in your everyday life?

For the Kids

1. Why is it important to be okay with changes and surprises? How can you stay calm when things don’t go as planned?
2. Why should we try our best in everything we do, but also remember to have fun and enjoy life? How can you make sure you do both?

Action

Look ahead at your calendar for the next week. Have you made time to delight in your life? Do you schedule joy into your calendar? We make so much time for work—and rightly so—but we are also given the gift of existing in this beautiful world. This week, find time to pause, refill, and rejoice in the goodness of your life. Maybe part of your rejoicing could come from sharing a cup of coffee with a friend, or working in a garden with neighbors, or cleaning up a stream with people from your community. The call to delight in the goodness of life may not even require a substantial life change but simply an outlook adjustment. Carve out some time to reflect on the gifts God has given you and express your gratitude. This activity will enlarge your ability to delight in every sun-filled day.

Readings

Many different church fathers and mothers throughout the ages have preached a similar message to the one we looked at from the Bible today—be present to this moment, love God and love others as part of who you are, and seek to honor the Lord through the work of your hands. For practical advice on what it looks like to love God and seek a greater awareness of his presence comes from an anonymous author from the 14th century. The Cloud of Unknowing is a beautiful, meditative, and instructional book on contemplation and action. Here is a small nugget that I hope will encourage you to seek out this lovely book, “So I encourage you—bow eagerly to love. Follow its humble stirrings in your heart. Let it guide you in this life, and it will bring you safely to eternal bliss in the next. Love is the essence of all goodness. Without it, no kind work is ever begun or finished.”