Vanity of Vanities...

[Maggot]

I was sitting with my coffee this morning, meditating, and this passage came to me. Its so true, we, myself at the head of the pack, get so wrapped up in this earthly crap we lose sight of the one thing that is forever. Its not, as the Preacher says, the earth, as eventually even that will pass. What is eternal, forever? Some would say 'God' but to me that is a bit amorphous, so I see it as Jesus put it, God is "LOVE". Not even loving one another, as we will all pass. Just recognizing that the fundamental priciple of all being is found in Love/God. All else shall pass but that shall remain.

Y'all have a great day.

Ecclesiastes 1

King James Version

​

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Seems like a lot of work.

I’d just go with this one:

Sirhr

 

[slowagon]

It‘s gonna be ok...

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV
[13] Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
[14] For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

 

[lariat]

It‘s gonna be ok...

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV
[13] Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
[14] For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

You are in my wheelhouse now - Ecclesiastes is my jam. Don't leave out the best part of that chapter. Remember God in your youth before you get old, start to fall apart and die. Remember isn't "remember" - more like honor and follow. Poetic descriptions of cataracts, feeble legs, missing teeth, deafness, the exit of sexual desire, and the winter of life, just like a grasshopper - mortality. I have used this in funerals I have officiated; its poignant then but is relevant all the time. We all should spend serious time considering Ecclesiastes and what Solomon was saying.

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”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 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;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

You caught me on the thread title Maggot. Good call my man.

 

[Maggot]

You are in my wheelhouse now - Ecclesiastes is my jam. Don't leave out the best part of that chapter. Remember God in your youth before you get old, start to fall apart and die. Remember isn't "remember" - more like honor and follow. Poetic descriptions of cataracts, feeble legs, missing teeth, deafness, the exit of sexual desire, and the winter of life, just like a grasshopper - mortality. I have used this in funerals I have officiated; its poignant then but is relevant all the time. We all should spend serious time considering Ecclesiastes and what Solomon was saying.

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”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 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;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

You caught me on the thread title Maggot. Good call my man.

This was always my favorite. One is protected as long as they stay in the secret place....if you wander out you can and will get really fucked over by the world. Ask me how I know.

Psalms
Chapter 91​

1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

 

[XP1K]

@Maggot and @lariat , thank you for these passages. They've spoken to me a great deal this morning.

I was brought up in church and attended regularly until my late teens early twenties. I'm 36 now with two kids, one is 4 and the other is 7 weeks, and I rarely attend church anymore. I've become what and old friend of mine calls a Baptist CEO. Christmas and Easter only.

I'm not near as knowledgeable on scripture as I should be, especially given how I was raised. I set out to read my Bible cover to cover this year (only five pages a day),and we tried to make it a family event in the evenings, kind of a wind down time bed. We might have made it through March.

Two weeks ago I took a trip down to south Texas with a friend of mine to do a little shooting and some maintenance on his lease and I took my 4 year old son with me. Regardless of how much I read it, I always travel with my Bible. My son always has to have a bedtime story before he goes to sleep and normally he will pick a book to read before bedtime. Well, we forgot to bring a book to read.

So we're getting ready for bed and he wants me to read him a book and I told him we forgot to pack one. And he says, read to me from your book dad, and he goes and gets my Bible. I almost cried. Out of the mouths of babes right ?

I definitely need to make it more of a priority to spend time in the scripture with my family. My children's generation are going to need that guidance more than ever.

 

[lariat]

@Maggot and @lariat , thank you for these passages. They've spoken to me a great deal this morning.

I was brought up in church and attended regularly until my late teens early twenties. I'm 36 now with two kids, one is 4 and the other is 7 weeks, and I rarely attend church anymore. I've become what and old friend of mine calls a Baptist CEO. Christmas and Easter only.

I'm not near as knowledgeable on scripture as I should be, especially given how I was raised. I set out to read my Bible cover to cover this year (only five pages a day),and we tried to make it a family event in the evenings, kind of a wind down time bed. We might have made it through March.

Two weeks ago I took a trip down to south Texas with a friend of mine to do a little shooting and some maintenance on his lease and I took my 4 year old son with me. Regardless of how much I read it, I always travel with my Bible. My son always has to have a bedtime story before he goes to sleep and normally he will pick a book to read before bedtime. Well, we forgot to bring a book to read.

So we're getting ready for bed and he wants me to read him a book and I told him we forgot to pack one. And he says, read to me from your book dad, and he goes and gets my Bible. I almost cried. Out of the mouths of babes right ?

I definitely need to make it more of a priority to spend time in the scripture with my family. My children's generation are going to need that guidance more than ever.

If I can give you some quick advice that was hard learned on my end: we have ALL been there. We get up, recover, and move forward knowing we have been forgiven, and since we aren't dead we are still in the fight. It is simple, but I think we get in our own way a lot. I know I do.

Also, for your son, you are correct. He will need that guidance, and will need YOU to be the one who points him to it. I spend a lot of time with church members who work with the kids in the community and it is shocking how many dads are not present in their lives, and even more who do not impart skills, wisdom or introduce them to God. Those things matter, and they matter deeply. So good for you man, keep up the great work!

Any questions, etc. feel free to PM. BTW, there are some good children's Bible's out there that would be great for him. He's going to mirror you so you might as well let him carry it around too, just like Dad.