Sound Advice for Good Dads

I’m afraid there’s no audio this week: more of those frustratingly difficult to pin-down technical difficulties. On the bright side, we did figure out why the audio quality from the past couple weeks is so sub-standard. Apparently the internal mic on the laptop we use to record the messages was turned on. Hopefully we’ll be back to normal next week.

On Sunday, we looked at Ecclesiastes 8:1-7, especially as it relates to Fathers. Fathers are often looked upon to provide good advice (like: “keep your eye on the ball,” and “never eat yellow snow”). Ecclesiastes 8 provides three bits of solid advice for Dads, and everyone else.

1. Obey without delay (vv. 2-9). As believers, we’ve made an oath of commitment to the Maker of the Universe. We need to keep our word both to God and to others. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:37, we need to let our “yes” and “no” mean precisely that. It’s easy to fall into the trap of procrastination when we have an unpleasant task to perform. Still, getting it done promptly is the best way to keep our word and obey our King.
2. Life’s not fair: fear God (vv. 10-14). The preacher of Ecclesiastes saw a frustrating thing: people prospered by doing evil, and were recognized by the church! This still happens today. The best way to handle these frustrating situations is not to join in and prosper with the rest of them, but to fear God. Even if everyone doesn’t get what they deserve “under the sun”, it’s still vital to fear God. Sometimes we shy away from the word “fear” and lean on the word “love”. They’re not mutually exclusive, however: the same God who is closer than a brother is the holy and all-powerful God of the Universe. Fear of God and love for God go hand-in-hand.
3. Enjoy what God has given you (or: We’re here for a good time, not a long time) (vv. 15-17). Here the preacher falls back on his oft-repeated refrain. We simply don’t have enough grey-matter in our collective craniums to perceive the way God knits the events of life together. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Indeed, you don’t know what’s going to happen before you finish reading this blog post! It’s best to enjoy what God has given you.

We ended the service with some testimonies. What has God done in your life lately? What do you have to be thankful for?