Live It Up Without Messing Up!
The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer? “The chief end of man is to love God and enjoy Him forever.” But you wouldn’t know it by looking around. It seems to me that many Christians just endure life rather than really enjoy it. There is relatively little laughter in their lives, only occasional excitement, and almost no ecstasy. It doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and might have it to the full.” (John 10:10b)
At the end of his remarkable treatise called Ecclesiastes, the wisest man who ever lived urges us to really live it up, to go for it, and to delight in being alive but without losing our perspective. Two key words are found in verse 8 of chapter 11, and are expanded upon in the remainder of today’s text: those words are REJOICE and REMEMBER. Together they provide a desperately needed balance, for there are many who go for the gusto but pay no attention to the consequences. On the other hand there are many who are so serious about life, or so overwhelmed by it, that they have no idea how to enjoy it. Watch for these two words as we read beginning in verse 7.
Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless.
Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”–before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.
Remember him–before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”
Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails–given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
I would like for us to think through this remarkable passage by means of a series of questions, the first of which is this:
What prevents most people from enjoying life?
People in record numbers are trying to escape from their shallow existence through drugs, alcohol, materialism, serial relationships, sports and entertainment, or even suicide. And I believe if you asked the average person why he doesn’t enjoy life more, you would probably get one of the following five answers:
1. Too young or too old. The adolescent thinks he can’t really enjoy life until he or she graduates from school, gets married, finds a job, and buys a sports car. On the other hand, those who are middle age or older too often think they’ve already missed the best part of life and so they start winding down way too soon. That leaves only the 30’s as the time to live it up–the very time we generally have the least amount of money and the greatest amount of family responsibility.
2. Too busy. Just surviving in this world takes a lot of time, of course, but then on top of survival we have the pressure of taking care of young children or aged parents, the rat race for financial security, the high expectations of job and church, the need to invest in friends, and who knows what else. All this seems for most Americans to put enjoyment of life way off in the future, perhaps at retirement. Rarely, however, do people who have failed to enjoy life during their work years suddenly learn the art when they retire.
I read a popular book that has affected me deeply. It is The Three Boxes of Life by Richard Bolles, who also wrote the best‑seller, What Color Is Your Parachute? He observes that most of us divide life into three boxes‑‑education, work, and play. We learn for 20 years, work for 45, and then plan to play during retirement. His contention is that this is a tragic way to exist; instead we need to mix the three boxes so we learn all our lives, work all our lives, and play all our lives, and then he explains how that can be done. His contention is extremely relevant to this hyper‑busy world we live in.
3. Too poor. I personally think this notion lies behind most of the lottery mania in this country. Since many believe the only way to find true happiness is in riches and the only way most can ever hope to get rich is through legalized gambling, they spend hard‑earned money to buy a one in a billion chance to be the lucky winner. (Unfortunately, most of the winners find their lives ruined in a very short time–the track record of lottery winners is incredibly sad).
Money actually has very little to do with enjoyment in life. For every expensive way to live it up there’s a free one—you just have to be a little more creative. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 12:15: “Not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
4. Too lonely. They blame the lack of joy in their lives on relationships that have gone south or never existed. If only I had a husband or wife, if only my spouse were different, if only I had kids, if only the kids I have weren’t so rebellious, if only my boss appreciated me more, if only I were more popular at school, then I could really enjoy life.
5. Too overwhelmed by circumstances. All through the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon has gone out of his way to point out that life is not fair. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. There are broken relationships, discouragement and depression, sickness and terminal illness, times of bewilderment and uncertainty. Don’t expect to find pie in the sky by and by in this book. But millions can’t seem to cope with this reality, and as a result they struggle through life feeling sorry for themselves, angry and bitter at the cards God has dealt them, and hardly able to enjoy a single day. Even many of God’s people, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, lack joy and excitement and enthusiasm in their lives. It’s tragic. Now let me ask a second question:
Why should God’s people, of all people, enjoy life?
God allows it. (11:8) Verse 8 of our text reads, “However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all.” Solomon’s message throughout the book has been that even though life is not easy or understandable or even fair, it is worth living. Again and again he has urged us to eat and drink, find satisfaction in our work, and find enjoyment. Let me read just two of these passages.
First, in 8:14, 15: “There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. So, I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.”
Then in 9:7‑10: “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.[i] Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun‑‑all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
Solomon isn’t hiding anything here. He’s honest in every one of these passages in that he tells us that joy in life cannot be based upon circumstances—they are too difficult and too meaningless. Rather we have to take life by the throat and consciously go for it in spite of the circumstances. That’s God’s desire for us. Even here in 11:8 the Preacher is honest: “However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many.” Solomon isn’t promising perpetual success. This is no health‑wealth theology. But he is saying that it’s OK to squeeze enjoyment out of life anyway.
God commands it. (11:9) Verse 9: “Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.” Solomon sees young people as responsible, to a certain extent, for their own frame of mind; he tells them that happiness is a choice. I don’t think he has in mind here the sad case of the child who is abused by an adult, undergoing verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual trauma, and therefore having no opportunity to thrive–that is tragic and must break the heart of God. But to the rest of young people he seems to be saying, “Now is the very best time of your life, so capitalize on it.”
A wag once said, “Youth is such a wonderful thing, it’s a shame to waste it on young people.” Unfortunately, many young people are blind to the fact that they are right now living in the prime of their life. But the rest of us must not forget that verse 8 says we should enjoy all our days, no matter how many years we live. There’s no time when we should hang it up; if God is our Father we have every reason to enjoy life from now clear through eternity.
Now a third legitimate question arises:
How Does One Enjoy Life?
Solomon doesn’t just tell us to do it; he also gives us some practical advice as to how.
Take some risks, but keep your eye on the end of the road. (11:9) Speaking to the young person, Solomon says, “Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see.” The NASB makes it even clearer: “Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes.” Remember Archie Bunker’s favorite saying, “Stifle yourself, Edith!” Solomon says the opposite to the young person, “Don’t stifle yourself. Live it up. Take some risks. Have a blast while you last!” Unfortunately, young people are often forced to grow up too soon, to get too serious too early in life, and to conform too much to what society thinks they ought to be. Instead, suggests Solomon, youth should be a time for idealism, romanticism, and a happy, carefree spirit.
Now perhaps you parents are beginning to wish your son or daughter hadn’t come this morning. And I recognize that some kids don’t need to hear this because they’re already too carefree and undisciplined the way it is. But there are some kids and many adults who do need to hear it. I’m very glad my parents weren’t overly protective with me as a kid. We didn’t have much money, but they allowed me to stretch my wings and see the country. By the time I graduated from high school I had been in nearly 40 states. I spent summers drilling wells with my grandfather or working on my uncle’s farm up in Minnesota; I did wilderness camping in northern Canada; I climbed 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado and hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with three of my buddies.
As an adult I have continued to enjoy this great world God created; I’ve explored countless caves and abandoned mine shafts, crawled through Hezekiah’s tunnel outside Jerusalem, attended the state opera in Vienna, eluded the KGB behind the iron curtain in East Germany, spent a week in the jungle with the most primitive tribe in the western hemisphere (the Yanomami Indians in southern Venezuela), and owned a powerful motorcycle as my second vehicle. The only thing I regret is the motorcycle.
But if I had it to do over again, there are a lot of additional things I’d try, and still might. I’d try skydiving, I’d go on an African safari, I’d learn to fly an ultra-light, and scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef. I realize that some of these things cost money, but that’s not why most of us don’t do them. We’re too busy, we’re afraid, or we’re in a rut. There’s a sign on the Trans‑Alaska highway that says, “Choose your rut carefully; you’ll be in it for the next 200 miles!” The problem is many of us haven’t chosen very carefully.
If we really can’t afford to do what we want to do, then we need to adjust; where there’s a will, there’s a way. When my little brother and his wife got married, they decided they wanted to see the world, so with a total net worth of less than $500 they took off. For nine months they lived in a kibbutz in Israel, working the orchards for their board and room, and hitchhiking all over the Holy Land on weekends. Before they came home they spent several months backpacking across Europe. Sure they came home broke but you can’t put a price tag on the experiences they enjoyed. Some people live to make money. The wiser ones make money in order to live. Oh, I know we have to be practical, but we can get too practical. So long as we’re putting God and our families first and not neglecting our responsibility to give generously, I believe in living it up.
Now there are some popular Christian authors today who are teaching this same message–and probably doing a better job of it than I. However, to a large extent they are failing to communicate one small but crucial point that is found in the last half of verse 9. Listen carefully: “Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.” Solomon knows that youth is a time of heavy peer pressure, and increasingly a time of great temptation, and he is not giving carte blanche here to run wild and violate God’s principles. We are to rejoice but to rejoice responsibly. The fact is, there are so many options in life that God allows, only a fool tries to find enjoyment by doing the things He doesn’t allow.
So, take some risks, but keep your eye on the end of the road.
Refuse to allow worry to eat you alive. (11:10) Verse 10, “So banish anxiety from your heart.” The word “anxiety” refers to the frustration and bitterness provoked by a hard and disappointing world. Solomon acknowledges that it is hard and often disappointing, but he urges the youth to refuse to surrender to pessimism and worry. It seems that young people in Solomon’s day must not have been too different from those of our day. Not being invited to the prom is far more traumatic than the collapse of the latest arms limitation talks. Not having the right clothes to wear looms larger than one’s college education. Being ignored by that special friend seems to have only one solution: suicide.
Solomon’s advice to young people is this: “Don’t sweat the small stuff. Those mountains will become molehills.” When I was a teenager and would get worked up over something, my dad used to say, “Mike, you’ll never know the difference five years from now.” And in most cases I didn’t know the difference even five days later.
This is also good advice for those of us who aren’t so young anymore. The world is full of professional worriers. They’ve got ten reasons why it won’t work before you even suggest something. When their children ask if they can do something or go somewhere the answer is usually “no” unless the child can prove there’s absolutely no risk. What an unfortunate way to live!
Don’t inflict unnecessary pain on yourself. (11:10) “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body.” That phrase is a difficult one in Hebrew, but it is probably a warning that while living it up, you must avoid activities that are likely to bring pain on your body–things like promiscuity, drugs, smoking, alcohol abuse, overeating, excessive caffeine, or perhaps even extreme sports. The percentage of physical and psychological ailments that are self‑inflicted is enormous. But even more importantly, to really enjoy life you must . . .
Remember God! (12:1‑7) Please note how crucial the time factor is in our passage. “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before. . .”; again in verse 2, “before,” and twice in verse 6, “before, before.” Our human nature tells us “Why hurry? Sow a few wild oats. You have 30 or 40 years and then you can get serious about God.” But Solomon says, “no, a thousand times no, the time is now. Don’t wait until your second heart attack.” Remember Him, . . .
1. Before regrets mount up (12:1). The first verse of chapter 12 reads, “Remember your Creator before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them.'” Jose Ortega y Gasset, the great Spanish existentialist, who was the subject of my Master’s thesis at SMU, said that each of us writes his own novel, meaning his own life story. Believe me, there are millions of adults who have chapters we would love to rip out, chapters that have changed the course of our entire lives for the worse, chapters we find our minds replaying again and again. Young person, consider God before your novel is written.
2. Before old age sets in (12:2‑5). Verses 2‑5 offer us a fascinating description of old age in the form of one of the most eloquent allegories in all the Scripture. It begins in verse 2 with a general statement about how aging comes upon us: “Remember your Creator . . . before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain.” When you get old, no sooner do you weather one storm than another one develops.
Also accompanying those advancing years is the inevitable deterioration of health and physical agility. Verse 3 reminds us that “the keepers of the house tremble.” As we get older the arms and hands begin to shake and we can no longer do precision work.
“The strong men stoop.” Our bodily house is built on two strong pillars–our legs. But there comes a time when the strong men become weak. Instead of running we walk, then limp, and finally shuffle. You can tell the advanced age of most elderly people from a hundred yards off just by watching them walk.
In addition to trembling hands and weak knees “the grinders cease because they are few.” You don’t have to be an expert in Hebrew poetry to understand that he’s speaking about the teeth. Furthermore, “those looking through the windows grow dim.” I’m feeling this one already. What’s frustrating is that when I take off my glasses and set them down, I can’t see well enough to find them. Fortunately, I haven’t yet developed cataracts, which is probably what Solomon is referring to here specifically.
In verse 4 he speaks about the ears: “the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades.” And this was written before the days of rock music! Imagine what our kids have to look forward to.
One would think that as a person grows deaf he would sleep better, but Solomon says that’s not the case. The elderly may not be able to hear what they want, but at night they seem to hear too well: “When men rise up at the sound of birds.” When I was a boy my grandparents lived in Northfield, MN., and I spent a lot of time in the summers working for my grandfather. Their little home was directly in front the Rock Island rail line between Minneapolis and all points south. In fact, one of the seven tracks cut the corner off their front yard about 30 feet from the front porch. I slept on that front porch. These freight and passenger trains would come through all night, blaring their horns right in front of grandpa’s house since there was a road crossing there, but I never woke up. My parents, on the other hand, hated those trains because they were awake half the night. The older we get the less soundly we sleep.
Solomon continues by observing that “all their songs grow faint.” This is probably a reference to the fact that the voice too is affected by age. Even the greatest of singers eventually has to retire. My favorite tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, is talking about hanging it up. He still sounds pretty good to me, but he knows his voice isn’t what it used to be.
In addition, verse 5 says, “men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets.” Acrophobia increases with age because one is no longer as sure‑footed as he used to be. Very few retired people do mountain‑climbing or rappelling. And they are also more vulnerable to purse‑snatchers and pick‑pockets.
“The almond tree blossoms.” The almond tree in full bloom has a silver gray appearance, so this is obviously a reference to the graying of the hair, an almost universal experience. The next phrase is, “And the grasshopper drags himself along.” When I was a boy I used to enjoy pulling a back leg off a grasshopper and then make him try to hop. I’m not proud of it—just being honest. Perhaps Solomon did that too. The point of his analogy is that agility and vitality has been lost, and in more ways than one.
Where the NIV says, “desire no longer is stirred,” the Hebrew says literally, “the caperberry is no longer effective.” The caperberry was considered an aphrodisiac; it was the Viagra of 3 millennia ago. But there comes a time when nothing works and impotence takes over. Encouragingly, this item appears at the very end of the list, indicating that this is one of the last plagues of growing older; that’s a relief.
In view of this discouraging picture of old age, I’m not surprised that Mark Twain once said he would like to live his life over again until he was about fifteen–and then drown! Young person, does this description of aging sound irrelevant to you? Believe me, it’s not. It’s going to happen–and sooner than you think.
Please don’t ignore the point of all this. Remember God before old age sets in, before it’s too late, while you still have time to serve Him and minister to others. Dwight Moody came home after a service one night and his family asked him about the service. He said, “We had 2 ½ conversions tonight.” They responded, “You mean you had 2 adults and a child?” “No,” he said, “we had 2 young people and an adult.” The 2 young people had a whole life to live for Christ. The half was an old man who had very little left to offer.
3. Before death ensues (12:5‑7). Let’s read starting at the end of verse 5: “Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember Him–before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” The silver cord is the spinal cord, the golden bowl is the head, the pitcher is the heart, while the wheel at the well probably represents the cardiovascular system.
When death ensues, friends, it’s too late to remember your Creator. Your spirit will return to God, but it makes a great deal of difference in what condition it returns. Will you be standing before Him at the Great White Throne in your own righteousness, pleading your own case, or will you be standing before the Judgment Seat of Christ, dressed in His righteousness and retaining Him as your lawyer? You know the old saying, “He who serves as his own lawyer has a fool for a client.” Never is that more true than when we stand before God in judgment.
Please note those familiar, disturbing words once again in verse 8: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’, says the Teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!'” I think he repeats these words again here just before his conclusion to emphasize that nothing we find here under the sun is ours to keep, and though we can and should enjoy life and even have a little ecstasy now and then, in the end the only thing that matters is our relationship with God. As St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “Thou hast made us for thyself, and our heart is restless till it rests in thee.” Which brings us to the final conclusion, as found in verses 13 & 14:
A final conclusion (12:13,14)
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” In other words, take God seriously and do what He says.
The book of Ecclesiastes is a tough one in some respects. Solomon has been brutally honest in admitting that life is not a bowl of cherries. And the temptation when one looks at life honestly is to become overly serious and even despondent. “Don’t,” says Solomon, “but don’t be foolhardy either.” Instead, fear God and obey Him. Why? Because His yoke is easy and His burden is light in comparison to the burden carried by those who walk away from Him.
But since we tend to be stubborn and to learn the hard way, we are also given an external motivation–“God will bring every deed into judgment.” In His own timing and in His own way He will cause there to be a replay of our lives. We will be forced to do business with Him. Count on it. That’s scary and comforting at the same time. To know that nothing goes unnoticed, even the things we hide from ourselves, is a sobering thought. At the same time, if God cares as much as this, nothing can be pointless. As Christ taught, no detail on earth is too small to matter in heaven–an idle word, the death of a sparrow, a cup of cold water, or the repentance of one sinner.
Do you want to know how to handle your life in light of such a day of reckoning? Would you like to know the secret? The secret is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, not for His own sins but for ours. He offers you the free gift of salvation–not only from sin’s eternal penalty, but also from its power. Jesus alone can redeem the meaninglessness of life. Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
Without the way, there is no going.
Without the truth, there is no knowing.
Without the life there is no living.
Remember Him in the days of your youth. If your youth is already past, remember Him now.
Prayer. Our Father, we thank you that you have provided life for us, and not just future life but abundant life right now. We confess that we find ourselves occasionally depressed, sometimes disappointed, and often apathetic, when in fact we should be rejoicing in your creativity, cooperating in your good purposes, and relaxing in your love. Help us to live life to the fullest, but at the same time to live responsibly, that someday we might hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
[i]. Since white is a symbol of purity and oil a symbol of God’s Spirit, chances are Solomon is encouraging us here to walk in purity and in the power of the Holy Spirit.