“Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot.”
~ Ecclesiastes 5:18
Hi James and Ellen,
What would you like to know by the time that you get as old as your grandmaa and grandpaa? A short term youth ministry team left this morning for the United States. There were nearly fifty young guys and gals on this short term team. Chaperones, medical personnel, El Salvadorans and a guy from our field missionary team were integrated into this team. Your grandpaa got to speak with this short term team right after the team arrived here in Guatemala. Your grandpaa likes to ask questions. Your grandpaa asked the young guys and gals who were on this short term youth ministry team why they wanted to spend time here in Guatemala. A couple of the young guys and gals said that they wanted to be in Guatemala to do things which would result in guys, gals and kids becoming born again. Your grandpaa told the young guys and gals – and everyone else who came with this mob of young guys and gals, that he did not want them in Guatemala to do things but that he wanted them in Guatemala to learn from their experiences. Your grandpaa wanted the young guys and gals to learn what Guatemala is like. Your grandpaa wanted the young guys and gals to learn what it is like to live life with their Guatemalan hosts, what the guys, gals and kids are like who live here in Guatemala and what the Guatemalan culture is like. The young guys and gals had planned this trip for months. Some of the young guys and gals had practiced mimes. Other young guys and gals came to play basketball with the young guys and gals here in Guatemala. Other young guys and gals had come to Guatemala to use their hands by helping to build something. The young guys and gals who were on this short term team – before they left for Guatemala, were never encouraged by anyone to learn through observing how their Guatemalan hosts lived and through what they saw, smelled, heard, tasted, etc. Latin America – which is where your grandmaa and grandpaa are now living, is a lot different than the United States – which is where you are living. Guys and gals measure their self-worth differently here in Latin America than how guys and gals measure their self-worth in the United States. Guys and gals who live in Latin America measure their self-worth through relationships. Guys and gals who live in the United States measure their self-worth by their position, power and prestige – all of which is underpinned by the wealth that a guy or gal is accumulating. Guys and gals who live here in Latin America live from day to day. What guys, gals and kids who live in Latin America do each day will interconnect with what other Latin American guys, gals and kids are doing. Guys and gals who are living in the United States live out their lives with minimal relationships in a compartmentalized way to accomplish personal life goals.
Ecclesiastes is a book in the Bible which ruminates on failed life lessons. Some guys think that the author of Ecclesiastes was Solomon. Whoever wrote Ecclesiastes was an old dude. Whoever wrote Ecclesiastes is a teacher type. Ecclesiastes 5 reflects on a couple of life lessons which the old guy may have failed. The old guy may have made vows to God which he could not keep. The writer of Ecclesiastes tell his readers that instead of opening their mouths to make a promise to God which they will not be able to keep, that they need to in God’s house keep their mouth shut. The old guy also seems to have a preoccupation about having desired to have a lot of money. The old dude knows how hard it is to sleep when a guy or gal has an obsession to amass more and more money. The old guy had seen guys sleeping without any trouble – guys who had worked hard in their fields and who were satisfied with what they had. This old codger knew that he had been born naked and he knew that he would not be taking anything with him when he died but . . . this old bloke had spent his lifetime – for really no reason at all, wanting and working at storing up lots of lucre. Instead of being satisfied with the life lot that had been given to him by God, the cranky old geezer always wanted to have more. The Ecclesiastes Book author seems to have lived an unfulfilled, unsatisfied life. Your grandmaa and grandpaa both have had really good jobs. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have made enough money to live comfortably. Your grandmaa and grandpaa had things. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have had a good life run. The lives of your grandmaa and grandpaa changed when they began to attend a church where guys and gals really cared about each other. Guys and gals learned from each other in this church. Guys and gals learned from the special speakers who God sent to this church – which is the Aberdeen Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Your grandmaa and grandpaa never want to stop learning.
The Ecclesiastes writer – now an old grump, admits that God is in control. The guy writes in verse 18 “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot.” God is not really giving you many days on planet Earth to live. In order to survive on planet Earth, you must do things – such as work. It is a given that you must work in order to eat and to drink. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that they have been very blessed living here in Guatemala and doing what they are doing as missionaries. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that they were blessed with good jobs when they lived in the United States. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have felt blessed the most when they are learning from other guys and gals. The short term youth ministry team – which was just here in Guatemala, did not listen to your grandpaa. The young guys and gals did what they wanted to do, they did not want to eat the food here and they did not like to spend time with their hosts. A learning spirit is wonderful thing to have.
Ecclesiastes 5 (78)