But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. -Ecclesiastes 2:11 (NLT)
REFERENCE
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 (NLT)
In some versions of the bible, Solomon’s narration in today’s passage is tagged, “The futility/vanity of pleasure.” King Solomon having spent a lot of resources on acquiring pleasurable things reflected and concluded that everything was meaningless. This scenario often plays out in life when one aspect of life is lived disproportionately to others. For Solomon, he lived in the extreme of acquiring whatever his eyes desired for pleasure to the detriment of the other aspects of life; so, he became fed up with everything in the end. This point brings us to #lesson three in our study of the eagle which is: Balance.
Eagles have two sets of eyelids; one helps them when they are diving down to hunt on the earth, while the other is used for flying directly toward the sun. This speaks of the eagle’s balanced existence, making it relevant and able to navigate in both ‘below the skies’ and ‘above the skies’ realms. Likewise, to live a victorious Christian life requires living a balanced life – although heavenly focused, we must find earthly relevance; for though we live in the world, our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).
Therefore, a balanced Christian is one who lives by the Word of God, but also makes investments in his/her social life, in physical exercise, career, family, good diet, emotional well-being, personal hygiene, etc. In his letter to the Philippians, Apostle Paul mentioned how Epaphroditus, his colleague, almost died from overworking, possibly by ignoring to have adequate holidays and rest (Philippians 2:25-30). Living an imbalanced life will affect you in the long run; excessive eating may cause obesity, being a workaholic may cause you to lose valuable time with your loved ones, spending too much time on earthly things will make you a carnal Christian; on the other hand, spiritualizing everything about life will make you a narrow minded Christian.
The conclusion of the matter then is, to avoid all extremes. Invest in your spirit, soul, and body so you won’t be lopsided, rather, you will be spiritually, physically, and emotionally healthy. I end with this quote by Tony Cooke, “God wants us to work hard and be industrious, but He doesn’t want us to be workaholics – obsessed and consumed with working. Life and ministry aren’t all about output. We must have quality input as well.”
SCRIPTURE PHOTO
ADDITIONAL STUDY
III John 2, Ecclesiastes 7:16-18, I Thessalonians 5:23(MSG)
PRAYER
Holy Spirit, help me to pay attention to my spirit, soul and body by investing proportionately for the growth and development of each segment in Jesus’ name. I declare that I prosper and I am in good health, just as my spirit prospers too, in Jesus’ name.
