Living in the Spirit
July 26, 2022
Scripture Reading:
Ecclesiastes 2:18-23
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me —and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
What legacy will each of us leave? Will it matter? I certainly have inherited some of my mother’s ways of being. I often describe my mom as the world’s best egalitarian. Every grandchild got equal to the same thing from her whether it was an Afghan or a quilt. When she made out her health care directive, she insisted that all three of her children were listed equally. I may not be as good at treating everyone equally as she was, but it crosses my mind in my decision-making. I dare say she may have developed this attitude because she saw the opposite in some of her life experiences. We do sometimes change patterns of behavior because we have seen the negative results of such behavior.
On the other hand, as the world changes so must our responses to those changes. Children today have no concept of a world without instant communications. I laughed at myself when I drove away from my house and by the time I reached the end of the block, I realized I had forgotten my cell phone. I turned around and got it and then wondered how many times before I had driven down I-35 toward the Stillwater exist near my family’s farm with no means of communication. We worked hard to create a more efficient and effective world. Our descendants hopefully will do the same thing. Some now would argue whether instant communication is always good.
The Hebrew word “Hebel”, translated here as vanity means worthless, more like in vain, than perhaps a perception of false pride*. We are called to do our best to leave our descendants a more advanced world than we may have inherited but the wisdom and love of God are constant and this too we must pass on to coming generations and pray that our example is not in vain.
Prayer: Lord, let the love we inherited from you be the greatest gift we pass on to our descendants. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1892.htm
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.