The book of Ecclestiastes

                                                                              

For sometime now we’ve been studying the book of Ecclestiastes (Solomon’s sermon) in our Sunday morning class.  If you’ve done this study, you’ll probably recall that the general theme of that sermon is the “vanity” of earthly life as compared to the coming eternal life.  It’s a great study and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Then I’m going to combine my thoughts on that study with today’s great sporting event.  Yes, today, February 1, 2015, is SUPER BOWL SUNDAY.  Why it can’t be Super Bowl SATURDAY I don’t know, but more likely, it’s just another indication of society’s neglect of God and anything religious. 

When you think about it, this day is, for many, the most looked-forward to day of the year.  With the exception of Christmas, it’s also the most “hyped” day of the year and draws more television viewers than any other event.  Which is why it’s approximately 4 hours of television time is the most expensive air time for advertisers. 

And, speaking of the commercials, I happened to catch a preview of some of them the other day and I warn you that some of them are stretching the boundaries of morals and decency pretty far.  And the half-time shows - I should say “extravaganzas?” - some of them push the “envelope” of decency a bit far too.  I doubt that we’ll ever see marching bands again at a Super Bowl.

Listening to a talk radio program a while back I heard a man calling in who was obviously a “super fan” of one of the teams and he had a dilemma on his hands.  (His dilemma also explains to me why the word “fan” is short for “fanatic.”)   Anyway, his dilemma is that he wants to attend the Super Bowl, but he has a little problem - he can’t afford it.  (I checked and a ticket for this year’s game is over $6,000, which by the way is a new record.)

His reason for calling in was to ask for advice as to how he might be able to get the money for a ticket.  IE: Should he use a credit card to buy the ticket and all other related expenses, OR, should he take out a second mortgage on his house to pay for all of it?  This is a real problem to him and he needs help to figure out what to do.  (In my humble opinion, he needs help in more areas than that.)

Why I say that will tie us into “The Preacher’s Sermon” and the theme of Ecclesiastes.  The man is talking about  A GAME for crying out loud!  And you know what else is sad about this situation?  That he’s not the only one that thinks this way about earthly events.  (Or that needs help in other areas.)  There are, no doubt, many who would bankrupt themselves in order to personally attend this GAME.

OK, on to my combination of Ecclesiastes and the Super Bowl.  Wouldn’t it be great if people were as much a “fanatic” about their spiritual life as they are their earthly?   That they were as concerned about their “eternal” life as they are about a few hours of pleasure on earth?  In making as much of an effort to secure for their soul a pleasure that lasts for eternity as they do for a few hours at a GAME? 

But alas, they won’t.  Or, at least, the majority of them won’t expend the effort to do this and the reasons are many and varied as to why.  And I’m not the one determining the percentages of who will and who won’t.  If you read the passage found in Matt. 7:13-14 you’ll see that it is Christ Himself making that determination.

So, back to my question asked a couple of paragraphs earlier, wouldn’t it be wonderful if those percentages were reversed?  If more people were concerned about their attendance in heaven than their attendance at a football game? 

But, because of the study of history (my favorite subject) and the fact that I spent a career watching people, I’ve come to the conclusion that the majority of people do not place as much emphasis on the acquiring of eternal benefits as they do on the acquiring of earthly pleasures.  That their “earthly life” outweighs their “eternal life” and my humble observations only cause me to have more faith in what Christ said in Matt. 7.

As a closing thought combining today’s Super Bowl GAME and Solomon’s sermon, let me just say it this way.  We need to always be aware of, and keep in mind, the vast difference between LIFE and a GAME.  Between what’s ETERNAL and what is TEMPORARY, which is one of the definitions of VANITY.

I like football and I like to watch football games and I believe that they are one of the blessings/pleasures of earthly life that we can enjoy as we live that life.  But, let’s keep the things of earth in the proper perspective as compared to the things of eternity.  Let’s always be aware of, and concerned with, those things that effect our soul’s PERMANENT welfare over the TEMPORARY things of this life.

I think that this thought fits precisely with what God said through His prophet Moses back in Deut. 32:29:

“Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end.”

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Covey