Ecclesiastes 7:10, "Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were
better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this."
This
morning, much ado is made about how things are, how things were, and how things
probably will be. Honestly, no one can accurately predict future details, and
equally certain, no one can accurately remember all of the fine points of the
past. Human faculties being as frail and faulty as they are, our minds are not
disposed to retain everything we have experienced, nor are we capable of
accurate prognostication, as that exceeds our capabilities. These shortcomings
do not exclude many from trying on both counts however. Yet, while recollection
of the past or prediction of the future can both be done to positive ends, the
overwhelming majority of those that engage in both do so for faulty reasons.
The faultiness shows forth an absolute lack of seizing the moment to do what we
can right now. Future predictors oftentimes become procrastinators, while past
recollections oftentimes become pine-fests. Either way, people are spending
more time doing less with what they have right now.
When
Solomon was inspired to pen this most woeful book, he had reached a point in his
life when he had "done all that could be done under the sun." Whatever his
natural inclination desired, he had tried it, and all to no avail. Everything
he found was vanity of vanities and complete vexation of spirit. When surveying
the scene of the tatters of his life, Solomon was inspired by the Holy Ghost to
instruct as a preacher in words of wisdom. These wise words were Solomon's
instructions to "not do as he had done." As he summarizes the book in the last
chapter, he encourages the young man to apply himself to wisdom so that when the
evil days of old age (that Solomon was then in the midst of) would not be as
painful as they were to Solomon. In my short years in the ministry, I can
attest that there is a vast difference between older people approaching their
mortality. When people have lived lives like Solomon, they reach the end with
regrets and sorrow for the vanity and pride of their former years. When people
have lived lives like Solomon exhorts us to, they approach the end with fervor
and zeal to go be with the Lord rather than think about past failures (though
undoubtedly they have had many). This final scene of life shows us how peaceful
the end can be for the child of God that has attempted to live Godly and soberly
in this present evil world.
As
we go through life, there is always a tendency to wonder about the future and
think and dwell on the past. We will focus this writing more on the thinking
about the past rather than looking to the future. However, the conclusion we
hope to draw by the end will also serve as a valid exhortation for those that
improperly look toward the future. Solomon tells us that looking at "former
days" with overt fondness is not a wise behavioral pattern. Have you heard
people wax and pine about the "good old days?" Perhaps all of us have even
engaged in this ourselves. For some reason, we can remember those days and
think them better than the day that is before us. Though quite often those days
had their fair share of evil and travail, we seem to think only of the part that
was "better" - seemingly - than today.
For
the sake of argument, let us say that the olden days were better than these.
Even if that were true, what does that knowledge do for us? Does it help in
today's present struggle or dealing with the problems of today? In every case,
it does not. Consider Solomon's early days of rule. He spent 40 years ruling
over Israel, and admittedly, the first 20 years of his rule were exponentially
better than the last 20. In the first half, he served God's people with wisdom
and might, serving in splendor while building a masterpiece of a temple for the
worship of God. The Lord endowed him with wisdom like the world had never seen
and riches to boot. The latter half of his rule showed him with many enemies
stirred up against him by the Lord for his mammoth idolatry, multiplied
marriages to strange women, and persecution of the Lord's prophets. If there
was ever a man to possibly have a case to think about and pine for the "good old
days," it would be Solomon. He could sit and ponder about the days of heavenly
favor, and delight in the quiet, peaceful splendor that was his.
Yet,
this man knew and understood that thinking about those days - however good they
may have been - did not change where he was at present. The longing for them
did not help today's issues. You and I, dear friend, have not had the roller
coaster of a life that Solomon did. If you had been married to 700 wives with
300 concubines with the majesty that Solomon possessed, you would be world wide
news. Since we cannot compare our "olden days" to Solomon's and he still had no
right or wisdom to glory in those days, what right or wisdom do we have to do
so? In point of fact, we do not. More importantly, the olden days were not as
problem-free as we remember, which is all the more reason not to spend our
moments pining for the way things used to be.
Now,
having established that waxing philosophical about the olden days and revelling
in their beauty is not wise no matter what our past may have been, let us
consider what such behavior might impede that we should be doing. One of the
children of Israel's problems while wandering in the wilderness was constantly
thinking about Egypt and contemplating going back there. As Paul mentions in
Hebrews 3 while talking about that circumstance, he mentions that we should not
be stiffnecked and stubborn like they were. One of the things they did not do
was to "hear His voice" and thereby prevent entering into "the provocation."
(Hebrews 3-4) Paul's case shows that we today can act just like that. We can
refuse to hear His voice in how we should live and act. Granted, this voice we
refuse is not the voice of power that comes in regeneration and the resurrection
(which is irrefutable), but it is the voice of invitation that calls for godly
service from us. (Contrast John 6:37 and Matthew 11:28)
God
invited the Israelites numerous times to walk with Him and find the promised
rest. We have a rest today that is also promised when we walk faithfully with
our Lord. However, to hear and follow His voice, we need to remember when it
comes: "To day." The voice is not looked for tomorrow, much less is it looked
for yesterday. It is looked for in the day after yesterday and the day before
tomorrow. Quite often when I talk with people about situations and problems
they face in their life, I have to freely admit from my own experience, "There
is nothing wrong with the Lord's communication, but there is a problem many
times with my listening." When I get stuck in the past and pining for it, I
fail to hear and heed the voice of today. By failing in that regard, I fail to
find the rest today that I could have with serene and majestic seasons with my
God.
Whenever we pine for the olden days, we admit by such a mindset that we are
dissatisfied with today. Brethren, there is much that goes on daily that I do
not like and am quite dissatisfied with. However, I do not want those black
marks of the day to interfere with the rest I could enjoy with the Lord. We
cannot live in the past or the future, but as creatures of today, we should be
focused in walking with and talking with the Lord today. When such a practice
is followed, we will find continual rest on a daily basis from the Loader of our
daily benefits. (Psalm 68:19)
Does
living in today mean that the past and future do not matter? Certainly the
Bible says a tremendous amount about both time periods. The past is something
we should learn from, while the future is where we should anticipate and look
for the coming promises of God. However, our thoughts of the past and future
cannot be there permanently as we cannot dwell there. One thing about the past
and future that "should" be the case is that we view yesterday as potentially
worse than today and tomorrow as potentially better. For instance, if we focus
on today to make it the best we can, walk with the Lord better than before, and
yearn to hear His voice today, we can make today better than yesterday. If we
redouble our efforts tomorrow, we can make tomorrow better than today.
Notice how Solomon terms the longing for yesteryear. He terms them as better
than these. If yesteryear is better than these days, then the simple cause is
that we are not improving daily. If yesterday is truly better than today, then
we have failed to utilize today as we should. If tomorrow is not better than
today, we have failed to utilize that day when it comes. Whenever someone asks
me as a minister how they should read the Bible, I generally use the same,
simple answer my father gave, "More." We should read, study, pray, meditate,
etc. more today than we did yesterday and more tomorrow than we do today. The
next time someone says that they long for the good old days, I hope that I am
having a season of fortitude to be able to respond, "These are the best days of
my life." As I reflect on the past, I am supremely thankful for past blessings
and truly hope not to make the same mistakes again. As I look toward the
horizon, I see that God is already there with promises intact. As I look at
this day, I see that He still stands with us and talks daily with us. May we
listen today, work today, and even better tomorrow.
In
Hope,
Bro
Philip