All posts by Simon Twist

Ecclesiastes 8:2-9:6 – Where is our hope?

Discussion question:

What powers do you have in this world?

Read Ecclesiastes 8:2-9:6

Context

Ecclesiastes 1-4 investigated the scope of life under the sun. Chapters 5-11 explore the details of these claims. We saw that there are advantages to being wise but it is hard for people to live wisely. Sin is always around to pull us away from wisdom. But knowing the end of things, our mortality and the fear of God is our benchmark for wisdom.

Observation

Structure

  • 8:2-6 You are not the king
  • 8:7-13 You are not God
  • 8:14-17 Live with humility
  • 9:1-6 Without hope?

8:2-6 You are not the king

“Obey the king’s command, I say…” The Teacher speaks to Israel who have a king. It is ironic that the king of Israel is instructing Israel, the assembly, to obey the king of Israel. But the reason for obedience is not conditional on the quality of the king but on the quality of the promise…

“…because you took an oath before God.” This is the structure of leadership and governance in Israel. Likewise, we shall listen to this wisdom in our own setting. The scriptures allow for a variety of government shapes like kingdoms or democracy but it does not support anarchy.

“Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence.” There could be a daily reverence implied here but the context of Verses 1-6 is about mutiny. Be slow to react and be careful how you proceed. You may be wiser than the king but he is the king (or she the queen).

“…a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?” There is always One who is supreme over any earthly king. The King of kings can say, ‘what are you doing?’ See Luke 23:1-12.

“…there is a proper time and procedure for every matter.” Everything can be done in decency and in order with patience and honour. See Romans 13:1-7.

Conclusion: you are not the king, but there is a King who’s word IS supreme – even the kings will need to answer to Him.

8:7-13 You are not God

“Since no one knows the future, who can tell…” The Teacher reveals the limits of his understanding here. He cannot know the future and doesn’t know anyone who can. And yet, God has been sending prophets to Israel since before Moses. Noah most famously was aware of the imminent flood and built the boat and told all what was to come. Daniel was given visions of the future. Isaiah and the other prophets spoke of the day of the Lord. The Teacher wants to highlight the prison of time that is upon us – that we are NOT all knowing and foreseeing creatures – but God is and he has made known the future to us – a future which centres around the Messiah and judgment.

“As no one has power over the wind to contain it so no one has power over the time of their death.” This is a proverb of comparison. Just like you can’t hold wind in your hands, you can’t hold onto the day of your death like it’s under your control. It’s beautiful to know that Jesus sits outside of both of these constraints. He calmed the storm (Mark 4:35-41) and he laid down his own life only to take it up again (John 10:18).

“As no one is discharged in time of war….” The final proverb in Verse 8 compares a soldier compelled to fight with a sinner compelled to sin. Once again, the Teacher does not teach us that one day the Messiah will release us from the captivity of sin (Romans 6:17-23).

“All this I saw…a man lords it over others…” Verses 9-10 cover two situations: a person with power who lords it over others but their end will not go well for them – they will die and presumably face the music. Then there are those who parade around like they are lovely but the Teacher implies they are really wicked and they will go to the grave too. The power and the praise do not get humans anywhere with God.

“When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out…it will not go well with them…” Verses 11-13 describe injustice on this earth. When a crime is not punished quickly, it fuels reason for others to also be lawless. Where is the swift and sure justice? A criminal may do well on this earth but beware the judgment to follow. It will be better for those who fear God and are reverent before him.

Conclusion: We are limited in knowledge, power over death and sin. The wicked may look to be winning but none of us are in God’s position. We are not God.

8:14-17 Live with humility

“…the righteous who get what the wicked deserve…” Life ‘under the sun’ seems unjust. Why is it like this? Is God not watching? The conclusion is not to be wicked but to be careful…

“…then joy will accompany them…” With all that has been said before, our lot is to submit to rulers and to honour God and to enjoy the limits of this life as best we can. Live with humility. This level of joy is incomplete though – how can we enjoy the injustice of this world? We need more than what the Teacher is offering!

“…then I saw all that God has done.” Verses 16-17 salute the difference between mankind and God. We are not God! We are limited but look at all that God has done! We may try to understand and claim to know but we cannot comprehend it. We need God to help us see the future, to find joy that comes with understanding and hope. “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.

Conclusion: we admit our limits of understanding but look to God to show us the way!

9:1-6 Without hope?

“All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad…” The Teacher is giving no credit to the promises of God. There is a prosperity gospel that the Teacher is disproving here. If honouring God comes with blessings and not cursings, then where are those blessings (See Deuteronomy 28-29)? What’s the difference whether you sacrifice or not? What difference does it make if you are good or bad, righteous or wicked? ‘Under the sun’, all we can say is that the wicked may gain wealth and then die – the righteous (God fearing) may live poorly and then die. What gives?

“…afraid to take [oaths]” This is a fun description of people who don’t trust God. They are not brave enough to make a promise and keep it. The ‘good’ will take oaths and work to keep them whether it hurts or not – the sinful will be too afraid to take them in case it backfires and doesn’t work out for them. There is a lack of faith to honour God.

“The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts…” This is a true thing. There is nobody righteous, not even one, says Romans 3:10 (citing Psalm 14 and 53).

“Anyone who is among the living has hope…” Taken out of context, this sounds right, but the words that follow limit this hope. The only hope described here is the hope of today but not tomorrow. This is not Christian hope.

“…the dead know nothing…their name is forgotten…long since vanished…never again will they have a part in anything…” This is not hope – it is hopelessness. The Teacher has told us that if you are alive, then good but when you’re dead, you’re dead. Does this mean that there is no teaching of the resurrection in the Old Testament? No, it means that the Teacher is not teaching it. “The LORD brings to death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.” (1 Samuel 2:6) This could be read as a metaphore for prosperity but the New Testament takes that ambiguity and puts the final nail in the coffin! The dead do rise and there is great hope for those who trust in God! BUT, this is not universal and many will miss God’s grace and their names will not be included in the book of life.

Suggested questions for running this study.

Q1. What is the Teacher’s wisdom about kings in Verses 2-6? How does the New Testament reflect this? See Romans 13:1-7 or Titus 3:1 or 1 Peter 2:13-14. (warning, this could amount to a complete study if some see controversy).

Q2. What are the limitations on humans described in Verses 7 and 8? Do we know of any escape from these ‘prisons’?

Q3. What is the Teacher’s advice in Verses 14-17? Is it sound advice? How is his advice any different to the wisdom of this world?

Q4. What is the best that the Teacher can hope for according to 9:1-6? Notice the destiny he describes. What type of hope does he teach? Do we have the same hope?

Q5.  Read 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 to critique the Teacher (and ruler of this age).

Meaning

We ought to take stock of our position in the universe. We will be subject to rulers, whether they be wise or foolish. But even the kings of this world need to concede that there is a King over them who can hold onto the wind, and directs the future and has laid down his life in order to set the captive free! We have hope that goes beyond the schemes of this world. The Lord is King and He’s going to take care of everything!

Application

Challenge#1 Trusting God by honouring the government

Christians across the ages have lived under governments who are selfish and short-sighted and foolish. The LORD himself demonstrated great restraint and humility as he stood before Pilate and Herod. Honouring governments is not conditional on whether they are righteous or not. We live for the Kingdom of God first (Matthew 6:32) but we live under the authority of earthly powers. Our challenge is to proceed with wisdom in this world, unafraid because we have confidence in the sovereignty of God. You might read Romans 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-14. This world is passing by. The justice of this world falls short of what we long for under God. But that doesn’t make our governments unworthy of respect and inconsequential.

Challenge#2 Know the King

Along this study we have read of the limitations we are under and the limited vision of the Teacher. But we have reflected on how amazing God is and how Jesus is the ultimate king. He teaches us about the future which includes us in it. He warns us of the danger of falling away and despairing. He has gone to prepare a room for us and he has freed us from the tyranny of sin. Knowing Jesus fills our life with meaning!

Challenge#3 The future for haters

Verses 5 and 6 describe a bleak future for those who do not know or trust God. Their future is not oblivion but the second death. This is no prize. Life under the sun as we know it enjoys the general mercy and grace of God upon all humans regardless of how they treat him. But beyond this life comes a judgment and the unrighteous will not receive peace with God. The only hope is for people to meet Jesus. ‘Good’ people will go to the grave. But only those who have loved and honoured King Jesus will be saved. That is sobering. The first thing to do about this is to pray for those who we suspect have not met Jesus yet.

Ecclesiastes 6:7-8:1 – The Advantage of Wisdom

Discussion question:

What’s the wisest thing you have ever heard?

Read Ecclesiastes 6:7-8:1

Context

Ecclesiastes 1-4 was filled with the Teacher, the king of Israel, giving the ‘life under the sun’ perspective and it is described as a ‘chasing after the wind’ and it is ‘meaningless’ or ‘misty’.

Chapter 5 focused on the foolishness of pursuing money rather than listening to God and fearing him. In Chapter 2 he concluded that wisdom is better than folly, obviously. Now we turn to that topic in more detail.

Observation

Structure

  • (6:7-12) What advantage have the wise over fools?
    • (7:1-6) Wisdom that matters
    • (7:7-12) The enemy of wisdom
    • (7:13-29) But where are the wise?
  • (8:1) The last word on wisdom

*This section is an exploration digging deeper into his query of Chapter 2. Cleary the wise are better off but why? Chapter 7 covers wisdom in a Proverbs kind of way.

(6:7-12) What advantage have the wise over fools?

“What advantage have the wise over fools?” This is the question of verse 8 and the whole section of Verses 7-11 explore the idea that there is no advantage. Note Verse 11, “…how does that profit anyone?” This is the purpose of Versess 7-11. We’ll step through the bits for clarity.

“Everyone’s toil is for their mouth…” Both the wise and the fool need to eat. The major project of life is not wisdom but survival. And it is never ending. We, like the animals, must go from meal to meal.

“What do the poor gain…” If someone is poor and without food, how is behaving properly going to improve their position?

“Better what the eye sees than…” Food in the hand is better than a growing appreciation of the palette! 

“This too is meaningless…” This recurring phrase helps us to catch his point but also as a marker of a change in argument.

“…already been named…has been known…” Is the human race really learning more? Aren’t we just relearning what has always been? And when all is said and done, a strong man will win.

“…how does that profit anyone?” Many words do not add to the sense of things. When we look at it all, you could argue that a smart and well educated man is no better off than a bear. Both need to eat and the bear will always take the salmon. Of course, the intellectual would carry a gun and fence off the compound from the bear and so on, there is scope to challenge the Teacher at this point but his question remains: what advantage have the wise over fools?

“For who knows what is good for a person…” This is an excellent question about authority and wisdom. Who is the author of wisdom? How do we know what is good during the brief stay we have here on earth? The Teacher has this view like we are just bacteria or insects on the planet with too much higher thinking – what is the point of it? The point of Verses 7-12 is to lead us into his answer in 13 onwards. There is an advantage.

“Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?” God has put eternity in our hearts but we are so limited in our knowledge of it. What happens once we are gone? And therefore, why should we care?

(7:1-6) Wisdom that matters

“…for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” It is worth going through each statement of Verses 1-6 which are self explanatory. The high point is this statement: wisdom is better because it is better to be prepared for the end and work backwards from there. 6:12 described our life as shadow, and how do we know more than what we are eating for dinner (7-11). The answer is for us to understand that we will die and live with this knowledge very much in our minds rather than ignored. This is wisdom.

“This too is meaningless.” Again, note the tagline to suggest the end of a thought.

(7:7-12) The enemy of wisdom

“Wisdom preserves those who have it.” The end of this section is the point. Preservation is key but as we pass through the various statements in this section we can see that losing wisdom is so easy. Our ‘animal instinct’ can overthrow wisdom for various reasons. The enemy of wisdom is sin.

“Extortion…bribe…” These can turn a wise person to a fool. Wisdom is very fragile when sin is against it.

“The end of a matter is better…” Hard things are hard – whether it is a hard conversation or a difficult project. The end is better. But the journey ought to be filled with patience rather than pride. Pride presumes that you will win, but patience may well achieve it.

“…anger resides in the lap of fools.” Again, sin is the downfall of wisdom. A fool will have anger at the ready like an unholstered gun.

“…why were the old days better…” This is evidence that there is nothing new – even new winges – under the sun!

“Wisdom, like an inheritance…benefits…is a shelter…wisdom preserves…” Just as money is a tool for existence, so is wisdom – it is a good house to live in.

(7:13-29) But where are the wise?

“This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.” Again, using the final word as the summary, we see that this long section (which could be further broken down if we were eager) is a search for true wisdom – the scope of it and the frustration of it. Life under the sun is not easy, it even frustrates the search for wisdom. Nobody is righteous but perhaps one man.

“…what [God] has made crooked…” We noticed back in 1:15 that the world we live in is crooked from sin. Verse 29, however, says that God has made mankind upright. If God had made us broken then this would be impossible to fix, and we know that sin is our constant enemy. But we have been made with the potential to be wise. By the grace of God we are able to say no to sin (Titus 2:11-14). This is a broad overview of what God himself can fix. Back to Ecc 7, however, leads us to the wisdom of knowing what hard times are given just as good times are. This is beyond our control.

“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad…” Ecclesiastes teaches here that bad times come to all – it is not a punishment. Sickness and disaster just happens – it is not directly the result of sin. But the Teacher does remind us that all of it is under God’s sovereign hand. See also Verse 15.

“Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.” If there’s no cause and effect to do with good times or bad then how can a person predict their future? Nobody knows what will happen in a year from now. We have been shown this all too clearly in 2020-2021. See James 4:13-16!

“Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.” Isn’t it interesting to be told to avoid over righteousness and also an implication that wickedness will be part of our makeup but keep it in check! But there is a tipping way toward righteousness. Don’t be over wise but don’t be a fool. The fear of the Lord is our key to winning here. Live this life conscious of the Lord who reigns. See Ecc 3:14. Overthinking wisdom will destroy us!

“…no one on earth who is righteous…” Interesting little insight by the Teacher.

“I am determined to be wise – but this was beyond me.” The Teacher admits that while wisdom is better, it is hard and impossible to maintain. Notice the connection between wisdom and righteousness. It is so hard to avoid sin! So much that we need to not take things too far when someone else sins.

“I found one upright man among a thousand…” The point is that the righteous person is a rare species. Even the Teacher was cut from the list.

“…not one upright woman…” My safety net here is that the only righteous person I know is the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is not originating from this earth (Verse 20).

“…God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.” Mankind is guilty of sin – we cannot blame God for our rebellious heart. We go in search of many schemes. Making money and building barns and oppressing others so that we can be king. These have all been covered by the Teacher already.

(8:1) The last word on wisdom

“Who is like the wise?” Wise people are like the wise – fools are not. This is a category question. What does wisdom give us?

“Who knows the explanation of things?” Answer: the wise. They have their eyes inside their head (Ecc 2:14) while the fool lives in darkness. Wisdom is a shelter like money is a shelter. It is better to be aware of our death than to live in ignorance. 

“A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.” Is this a measure of wisdom? If it is not softening our face then we’re doing it wrong? Let’s imagine that a person who knows and fears God, who understands the grace of God and that in the end, we will see him without condemnation through Christ – that ought to soften our faces.

Suggested questions for running this study.

Q1. “What advantage have the wise over fools?” (6:8) According to Chapter 6 Verses 7-12, how would you answer that?

Q2. According to Chapter 7 Verses 1-6, what things do the wise think about? 

Q3. Looking at Verses 7-12, what things fight against wisdom to make it hard?  

Q4. What is the advantage of wisdom then?

Q5.  Compare Verse 13 with Verse 29 which bookend the whole section of Verses 13 to 29. What is this section trying to teach us?

Q6. Answer the question of Chapter 8 Verse 1.

Meaning

Wisdom is better for us because we live with understanding. We live in the fear of the Lord and knowledge about our place in the universe. Being conscious of death means we will be wise with the resources of today. The enemy among us is sin. Which is not an external enemy but comes from our own desires to scheme and be drawn to foolishness. The fact is that nobody is righteous! While it is our shelter and better than ten kings, it is also allusive to us.

Application

Challenge#1 The sinfulness of mankind

The gospel teaches us that we all need saving. Ecclesiastes 7:29 says that it is the schemes of people that are the problem. This whole section has outlined how impossible it is for you and I to remain sinless, to walk the path of righteousness and wisdom. Even as we try, we are led astray by our passions and cravings. Titus 2:11-14 outlines what God has done to save us AND to give us the ability to say no to ungodliness. We need saving from ourselves and God has done it. It is over to us to choose the harder road of saying no to sin – this too by the grace of God. Read also Ephesians 3:14-21 on how we can grasp real wisdom.

Challenge#2 The Limit of Wisdom

We do not know what tomorrow will bring and we do not know how long our investments will last. Ecclesiastes 7:14 says, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.” There is no guarantee of cause and effect. Wise people will suffer too. Read James 4:13-17.

Challenge#3 Wisdom at funerals

One mission field is church services, particularly funeral services. It is one of the few remaining times when all walks of life may venture to a Christian service by invitation. And during the service, there is no embarrassment in talking about life after death and about judgment and/or assurance. Wisdom is found at funerals. That said, there are plenty of funerals which entertain foolish thinking. I wonder if you have thought about your funeral? 

Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:6 – Greed is idolatry

Discussion question:

What’s something in this life that you might like to save up for?

Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:6

Context

The premise of the Teacher’s lessons is that life under the sun is empty – misty. We do not improve this earth by our existence, and we do not create more joy than what God has already gifted to us to begin with. Life as gain is disappointing (to say the least) but life as a gift is where joy can be found. We do not orchestrate time and the best we can do under the sun is to enjoy our labour, to live in community and to learn to fear God. Wisdom is better than folly but both will return to dust in the end. Humans are no better off than animals under this same measure. We thank God each lesson for the greater Teacher who reveals eternity for us.

Chapters 1-4 have laid down the foundation for the rest of the book. We’ll hear things we’ve already heard in this chapters but the Teacher will explore them more deeply and include more wisdom for us to listen to and learn.

Observation

Structure

  • (5:1-7) Fear God.
  • (5:8-17) Forget money.
  • (5:18-6:6) God gives…

(5:1-7) Fear God.

“Guard your steps…” This has the sense of being watchful of how you proceed. Psalm 119:59, 101, 105. The wisdom to watch your feet will parallel the wisdom to watch our words in Verse 2.

“…when you go to the house of God.” The Temple is unique in all the world as the one place authorised to bring sacrifice to God. 1 Kings 7:12 use the phrase ‘house of God’ to mean Temple. Christians do not have a building that equals this because Jesus is the Temple and we are the Temple where God dwells. So, join the dots and work out when should a Christian guard their steps?

“Go near to listen rather than…” Proverbs 29:20; 18:13. A fool presumes to know what life is about and what everyone expects. A fool feels they need no education. A fool is not educated about what they do wrong. Many sinners will step foot in church and never believe that they need forgiveness. 

“God is in heaven and you are on earth…” Here is the distinction between our vision versus God’s. We live life with only knowledge of what happens under the sun but God is in heaven and has wisdom to teach us, if we would listen. This is why the Bible is so very, very important. General revelation (what we can observe and conclude from our senses and logic alone) is limited and does not teach us anything about God in real detail. But God has spoken to this world and our place is to listen to Him. Those who do not are rightly defined as foolish.

“A dream comes when there are many cares…” The meaning of Verse 3 is unclear except that the ‘dream’ is not positive. One might interpret the definition of ‘dream’ as an inspired answer or revelation from God but that doesn’t fit the context. Verse 7 uses the word ‘dreaming’ negatively. Verse 1 describes approaching the house of God in order to listen. Verse 3 has a parallel sense to it which matches the second half: “…many words mark the speech of a fool.” The verse, then, is about the fool with all his/her concerns under the sun when what they really ought to do is stop and listen to God who is in heaven. What do we know? The dream could be disturbed sleep due to the cares of the world. It could be wishful thinking or planning your way out of the world’s cares. NB: a good rule with scripture is that when a sentence is difficult to nail down, then look at the context and lean on that for your answer. I don’t see this as promoting the reading of dreams because of the context.

“…a vow to God…” This simply means a promise that is made especially in prayer.

“Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.” Guard your mouth as much as you guard your step.

“Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.” See above on dreaming. This is the conclusion: attempts to get out of strife in this world is foolishness – be still and know that God is God – fear Him. The fear is demonstrated by listening.

(5:8-17) Forget money.

“…do not be surprised…” What is described in Verses 8-9 and further is the power of money and the pyramid of success. Those at the top are benefitting from what is below. Do you think the bottom of the pyramid is filled with winners? Do you think that those at the top are innocent and pure? The Kingdom of God is the only exclusion to this logic – it defies logic like this – the least will be first and the first last!

“…wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners…” We are left to imagine why this is harmful. The hoarding implies no sharing and no good use for the wealth – see Verse 11b – its only use is to be looked at. It is not others who are hurt by the hoarding but the owner. 

“…or wealth lost through some misfortune…” The second misfortune is money that was intended to be used for the next generation but it is lost through financial misfortune.

“Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart.” You can’t take it with you so why live like money is the answer. The Teacher has outlined a number of ways that faith in money will ruin us: It creates oppression in the world (8-9); We lose sleep trying to accumulate it (10-12); We hope in it only to have it taken from us through misfortune (13-14). The only content person is the one who works for a living in order to eat and sleep (12a). Better to stop worshiping money.

(5:18-6:6) God gives…

“This is what I have observed to be good…” The Teacher makes some conclusions in this whole section.

“…this is their lot.” The conclusion embraces the limitation of our existence. We do not plan when to be born or when to die. Our existence is fleeting and we take as much out of life as we brought into it. But to eat, drink and find some satisfaction in what we do, rather than in the wealth we gather, is good. We may even sleep soundly for it rather than be troubled by dreams.

…when God gives…this is a gift of God…God keeps them occupied…” Godliness with contentment is great gain, says Paul to Timothy in 1 Tim 6:6. It is the life of the wise person who has approached God to listen to him rather than to pursue wealth – God may well have blessed a person like that with wealth. The money is not evil but the love of money is. Notice the grace of God to provide and it is in hands really.

“…occupied with gladness of heart.” A good phrase for contentment.

“…another evil…meaningless…a grievous evil.” The opposite of ‘good’? Verses 6:1-6 describe this grievous evil. It is better to not have experienced life at all than to have everything your heart desires and yet no joy in them – they die before they can enjoy it. Working in order to enjoy retirement – if that is the point of life – that is a tragedy. 

Suggested questions for running this study.

Q1. Discuss the content and meaning of verse 1 (5:1). How do Verses 2 to 7 expand on this?

Q2. How is life under the sun described in Verses 8-9?

Q3. What does the pursuit of wealth bring us? See 10-12; 13-14; 15-17.

Q4. What is the difference between the rich fool and the wealthy person blessed by God? (see 5:18-20 compared to 6:1-2). Read Luke 12:13-34 to remember the tragedy of the rich fool.

Meaning

Listen to God and stop pursuing the wealth of the earth. We brought nothing into this world and will take nothing out of it. The toil of life ought to do no more than give us food, drink and rest. Life and prosperity are a gift from God – a need to listen to him carefully and be thankful is our lot.

Application

Challenge#1 Listen to God – really.

Do you have an eagerness to listen to God through his word? He has spoken to us clearly and with a very rich resource for knowledge and life. How often it is that we ignore it, presume we have already learned enough from it, or think we know it when we really don’t know half of it! Let’s get rid of our apathy toward God’s word and act as though his word is life.

Challenge#2 To spend or not to spend

What is it that you are saving money for? It’s up to you what you do with your money but the Lord has given us more than enough warnings to consider what we do with it. This challenge is an opportunity to ponder where your heart is and to reflect on money wisely. Have you considered what happens once you’re gone?

Challenge#3 A world of oppression without wisdom.

Life as gain creates a pyramid of oppression where only the person on top is not oppressed and yet they are tortured by their own wealth through lack of sleep and the futility of losing it all – or the worry that they might! It is a disastrous view of life but this is the world we live in. Imagine if people were freed from this? The gospel gives people freedom from being slaves to money. God calls us to free people from this slavery. It begins with people listening to God – that’s the break in the cycle – to listen to God. Perhaps you are the mouthpiece of God to help somebody! (Luke 12:13-34)