Worshiping Something
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The secular American Author - David Foster Wallace observed:
“Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.
And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship…is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive.
If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life,
then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough…
Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly.
Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid,
Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out.
Not long after saying this - he committed suicide.
We all worship something - I’m not sure what he worshipped himself - but it seems that sadly - as he predicted - it ate him alive.
Pray
We ended chapter 4 with a foolish and arrogant King who failed to listen to his people - because of his arrogance.
And this next little section seems to be a riled response to the arrogance and nievity of humanity when it comes to how we fail to listen to God.
Don’t Worship Self - 5v1-7
Don’t Worship Self - 5v1-7
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
It ought to be obvious - that when we approach God - represented in the OT by attending the temple - that we ought to do so carefully.
Guard your steps, the teacher says,
Go near to listen - don’t offer the sacrifice of fools - by which he means -opening your mouth and declaring your own righteousness.
Going in with an air of significance or superiority or with plenty to say for ourselves all demonstrates one thing..
(end of v1) We do not know that we do wrong.
The teacher seems to see a direct correlation between the person who is always talking and declaring how right they are,
and the person who doesn’t truly appreciate their place before God.
It’s the defence of so many in our society - but I’m a good person - especially compared to XY or Z.
God wouldn’t judge me.
But it’s also the voice we hear so often in Christian circles.
Well God will forgive me anyway, so I can do this or that.
or I don;t need to repent everyday - I’m quite a good Christian really,
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
IN other-words -we are to know our lowly place before the creator Almighty God!
rather than worshiping ourselves.
As the saying goes...
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Hold your toungue,
stay on your knees,
listen don’t talk,
Do we not appreciate who we stand before.
Quiet, humble, repentance and daily calling on God’s gracious mercy is our hope and right sacrifice.
As we have heard repeatedly in Ecclesiastics,
we are small, insignificant, temporary, quickly forgotten in this life under the sun.
How can we approach God with arrogance and words of self-justification. With woirship of ourselevs.
No - be still and quiet.
Humble and repentant of our failings and lowly estate!
God Almighty is beyond our time, beyond our understanding,
He created all - this world that goes round and round is mearly a word on his lips.
Stay quiet for a minute!
Calm yourselevses - it’s not all about you..
A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfil it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfil it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
Oh Lord - I’m not that bad a person - you need to forgive and accept me.
Oh Lord if you answer my prayer I will do this or that for you.
Oh Lord - how pleased I am that I’m not as bad as that terrible sinner over there.
Oh Lord - I’ll go to church every week if you give me what i ask,
Oh Lord - this life really isn’t fair on me - I deserve better
Oh Lord my busy life and mind that cause my worrisome dreams are proof that I am worthy of your attention..
The teacher simply observes - if you’re going to make vows and deals with God - you better well keep them!
It’s not God’s problem if you make foolish deals with him!
If you worship yourself - you better make good yourself.
We know how that ends, no,
stay quiet and listen to Him - rather than talk and speak of how you will save yourself!
Of course we don’t attend the temple to meet God anymore.
Jesus has given us the presence of God in our hearts by His Holy Spirit who speaks to us through His Word the bible.
So infact we now are to live our whole lives in quiet humility before God.
We live out the humble fruits of the Spirit - rather than foolish chatter, deals, or justifications before God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Each of them are demonstatrtions of our quiet humility - not proud arrogance.
It’s hard also not to apply this text to our public gatherings of church not just our daily lives.
Why are we here - is it to gain something - to prove to God and others how good we are
- to show we are worthy
- to get some feelings of worth or power?
To complain we weren’t served or our needs met by others in the congregation?
Becasue deep down it’s us, and self worship we’re truely interested in?
Or is to to come in quiet humility?
Keen to listen to God’s Word and praise his name
- to lay aside our cares and worries that cause us to dream,
to put our self-righteousness again at the foot of the cross?
To be reminded we are small and unworthy before a glorious and righteous God?
The world doesn’t like this thinking - perhaps we don’t if we worship self - everything ought ot be about me, me, me.
How am I being served,
What is good for me?
But true faith is different - it’s all about and fro the glory of God.
Even our very salvation - is not all about you and me
Isa 61v3 says that those saved by God
Isaiah 61:3 (NIV 2011)
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.
.Our salvation is for god’s glory - not for ours.
Although we are of course eternally grateful and joyful at his kindness to us,
Salvation is not designed to elevate us - but to elevate the glory of God!
What we do here is for God’s glory.
Every prayer we pray should be for the glory of God.
We can pray for promotion, and for healing, and for enough food, or fro money to pay the fuel bills - but only if we can honestly pray - for your glory Lord God and not for mine.
We can sing of encouragement to one another - but only if it’s for the glory of God.
We can preach words of edification but only if it’s for the glory of God.
The teacher Summaries this idea in 2 words..
Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
Fear God
- worthy of all glory -
Hebrews puts it like this.
Hebrews 12:28 (NIV 2011)
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
Do not worship self - Fear God.
Pause
For the rest of todays passage, the teacher returns to the theme he started about oppression in last weeks chapter - but now takes a longer look at the idol the world worships which causes the oppression.
Don’t Worship Money - 5v8-6v12
Don’t Worship Money - 5v8-6v12
If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
His point is that oppression is everywhere - and we shouldn’t, even can’t be surprised, becasue our entire world works like this - becasue it starts at the top and works it’s way unavoidably down.
The King at the very top of the piramid profits from his position of privilege.
To make his money - he must take it from those below, and so on and so on.
To some extent that should be ok if everyone is taking 1 handful with tranquility - but of course - everyone actually wants 2 handfuls!
And it’s all rooted in the worship of money.
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
How ironic though that the worship of money not only opresses those below the worshiper of money - but they too are self-enslaved to the very thing they worship.
I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit.
The lover of money is never satisfied - always wants more - and so never finds happiness.
Money is a cruel master - alwasy demanding more of your time, and energy and toil.
The image is clear in v17
All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.
or
God gives some people wealth, possessions and honour, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
How blind, and dark we are when we put our goals and dreams in the hands of the god of money says the teacher of Ecclisiaties.
One commentator puts it all like this,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Bridging Contexts)
Even the ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but human beings are too stupid to recognize their Creator (Isa. 1:3). So they go on hoarding goods to their own harm (Eccl. 5:13), even though these possessions do the owner no real good while he or she possesses them but bring with them lack of satisfaction, worry, sleeplessness, frustration, and anger.
What is fascinating is that God has designed it all to be this way as we read in v2.
This sinful evil desire of humnakind to worship money - is God’s design to frustrate humanity - so that they (if they are wise) return again to fear Him.
You actually see this all through scripture.
for example God predicted this same problem thousands of years ago when we blessed the Israelites with the promise of the covenant land.. and He says when you entre this wonderful land..
14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
17 You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV 2011)
18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,
How familiar those words are to our own lives.
Look at all I have achieved by my own strength and hands!
How close worshipping self and worshipping money are!
And how quickly they both let us forget a right fear and Worship of Almighty God Who is our only hope to avoid the judgement we deserve - if we repent and are humble before our Lord JEsus who takes the our sins upon himself.
It is time then to abandon our idols of self and money,
and instead
Worship God
Worship God
This means when life is good we don’t pat ourselves on the back - or seek more and more of the same.
but
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.
I take this to mean that in whatever hand we are gifted by God - we are to worship the gift giver, not the gift.
Paul picks up similar themes in 1 Timot….
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Some of us will need to repent again, or for the first time, of seeking and worshiping money not God,.
Some of us will need to repent again for begrudging God the life we have.
Worshiping money leads only to greif in this life and judgement in the next!
We all need to come again to the foot of the cross of Jesus,
in quiet humility, repentance and faith,
to find the only lasting true joy in this and the next life.
HOw incredible that the God we are right to fear and come humbly and quietly before,
Is the same God who gave us His only precious Son - the Lord Jesus as a sacrifice to make right all of our sin!
Let us not be blinded by darkness - but come again to our Almighty God.
Who although we are small and unworthy,
and although we worship ourselevs and money,
and although we deserve nothing and should come in quiet humilty,
despite all that - he still choses to love us - for his own glory!
If you’d like an encouraging memory verse on all this then here it is..
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’
What gerat news - that God will never leave of forsake us - and all we need do is come to him to listen.
Worship God by listening to Him.
Hear him pormise forgiveness and Grace through Jesus,
Hear him promise he will never leave of forsake us.
For the truth of those things allows us to let go of self worship or money worship and trust Him and Him alone.
So let us pray.
Pray
Heavenly Father,
Proverbs 30:8–9 (NIV 2011)
[says - and we pray this for ourselves] give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God.
So Dear Lord
Hebrews 13:5 (NIV 2011)
Keep our lives free from the love of money and [allow us to] be content with what we have, because you have promised, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’
Amen
