It's a Wonderful Life - 6/25/23
Part of Living the Dream—A Series in Ecclesiastes
June 25, 2023
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Living the Dream: It’s a Wonderful Life - 6/25/23
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”
—Ecclesiastes 3:11, NLT
ME
“Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.”
—Ecclesiastes 4:1–3, NLT
We humans tend to embrace and adore those enticing electronic technologies that mesmerize us with amusement and escape yet that can at the same time deeply impair our motivation and capacity for thoughtful analysis, ethical reflection and civic action. He argued it’s not what we fear that will ultimately ruin us as a society but what we freely and delightedly give our attention to, our electronic media of unendingly entertaining distraction.
—Neil Postman in “Amusing Ourselves To Death”
“Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. “Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.””
—Ecclesiastes 4:4–5, NLT
Any focus on
“I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing. Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
—Ecclesiastes 4:7–12, NLT
Live for
“If you want to be rich, then be kind. It’s hard to create wealth unless you work well with others, and it’s hard to work well with others if you are unlikable. Even if you can build wealth without kindness, rich jerks end up poor in friendship. You can buy friends, but not good ones.”
—James Clear
“Don’t hate your neighbor. Don’t be too lazy to help them or too powerful to avoid oppressing them. Don’t get so caught in your today that you can’t see their tomorrow. Don’t drop out like a fool or get sucked in by the fanatic.”
—David Gibson, “Living Life Backward”
A wonderful life is focused on improving life
“Each person’s life touches so many other lives. Remember no man is a failure who has friends.”
—Clarence The Angel in “It’s A Wonderful Life”
Discussion Questions:
- Did the attainment of your goals lead you closer to success or significance?
- Is the pursuit of success or significance driving your quest?
- When people describe you do they talk about what you have achieved for yourself or what you’ve accomplished for the benefit of others?