keeping it real
For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it. This is not only foolishness but highly unfair. (Ecclesiastes 2:21)
There are several books in the bible that I've never really looked at; Ecclesiastes had only registered because it was my Mum's favourite evil charade to give someone at Christmas. I found this verse on a random trawl and was immediately struck by how un-Jesus it is. Read it, can you imagine the man who told the rich young noble to give all his money to the poor adding the words:"Yes, this is unfair, but life's a bitch."
In one way, this verse describes teaching (bear with me). Teachers - the good ones - spend hours devising lesson plans that will stimulate and educate the children. They summarise pages of GCSE knowledge into easily mangaeable bits. They create templates for coursework that will make getting it done in time that much easier. They use their own wisdom, knowledge and skill to encourage and educate those without these things. However, there's a positive ending to the teaching metaphor, it is not foolishness or unjust, but a progressive and altruistic way of life.
(At least in theory, some of the little rascals don't help things.)
Similarly the rise of the charitable organisation. Here are companies that could take as their mission statement the first part of this verse. Foolishness it may be to the conglomerates and investment bankers, but the work that people do in charities benefits people who by and large will not be able to repay that effort. "People who haven't worked to earn it" is a phrase that sounds petty, and one can imagine a rich man strolling the golf course with his buddies of a Sunday morning using it, but it is true. However, when the people who have stood to gain are able to, they do work. Besides, the "gain" that the writer of Ecclesiastes is talking about is probably monetary, it is something that can be counted and respected. How many millions of people around the world work dusk till dawn to feed themselves and their children, and that's it? The work that charities do creates capital that is then used to help anyone without the resources to help themselves. This is not foolish, it is admirable.
I had a conversation with a friend a while ago where we talking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I am no sociologist and would not presume to analyse it here, when there are enough papers available already, but I believe it highlights the different attitudes people have to respect and fulfilment in different circumstances and cultures. I had seen an episode of MTV cribs recently and was appalled at how opulent the house this inarticulate skinny white guy was showing off. Maybe I'm just not that into the idea of being rich, but with the personal and safety needs dealt with, he had taken the need for esteem, belonging and actualisation to a tacky, widescreen, petrol-pumping extreme. I get so angry at these programmes. Extreme Makeoever: Home Edition as well. Sure, there are people who have been through some serious personal crisis, with no home to speak of, but if they took a quarter of the budget on these houses and went over to Rwanda, they could build as large and as beautiful a home there as in the US. As I said, I'm no sociologist, but there are some massive things wrong with Western society when its people seek love, status and actualisation in third homes and walk-in wardrobes, and are encouraged to do so.
Back to Ecclesiastes. Turns out, the entire book is a poetic extension of the adage "Life's a bitch". Scholars reckon that some of the more depressing - and therefore impious - passages were toned down over the years. The author's premise is that Death makes no distinctions, so life itself and finding joy in life is pointless. There are quite a few theological books out at the moment on the nature and possibility of an afterlife. Some conclude that there is no life after death, but that it should not stop us from leading lives of humility and Jesus-led grace. For thousands of years, Jews lived according to the laws of the Torah, dedicated to God, without believing that at the end of their lives they would find reward in an afterlife. Perhaps if we lived as if there was no reward, the gift of life would be enough. In fact, if we ceased using the rhetoric of "seeing the Lord face to face" or "when I stand in glory", it might encourage more selfless lives. If Christians believed that they were living for a better world now and after they died, rather than an existence now and a better world for themselves after they died, there would be so much activism and fervour for justice and respect in the world that things might change.
This blog isn't just about keeping myself accountable to lewd behaviour, it's being held accountable full stop. I say these things, I think these things and yet I'm not pushing my way to the front line. I'm not trying the chaste thing so that one day God will pat me on the head and usher me into heaven. Plenty of non-Christian girls out there would quite like to find someone who respects them enough to wait, or who doesn't pile on the pressure (and the vodka). For the next few days its about looking for a way I can work and toil and use my skills in such a way that others gain, because it is foolishness in the world's eyes but it is just and it's what Jesus would have wanted.
There are several books in the bible that I've never really looked at; Ecclesiastes had only registered because it was my Mum's favourite evil charade to give someone at Christmas. I found this verse on a random trawl and was immediately struck by how un-Jesus it is. Read it, can you imagine the man who told the rich young noble to give all his money to the poor adding the words:"Yes, this is unfair, but life's a bitch."
In one way, this verse describes teaching (bear with me). Teachers - the good ones - spend hours devising lesson plans that will stimulate and educate the children. They summarise pages of GCSE knowledge into easily mangaeable bits. They create templates for coursework that will make getting it done in time that much easier. They use their own wisdom, knowledge and skill to encourage and educate those without these things. However, there's a positive ending to the teaching metaphor, it is not foolishness or unjust, but a progressive and altruistic way of life.
(At least in theory, some of the little rascals don't help things.)
Similarly the rise of the charitable organisation. Here are companies that could take as their mission statement the first part of this verse. Foolishness it may be to the conglomerates and investment bankers, but the work that people do in charities benefits people who by and large will not be able to repay that effort. "People who haven't worked to earn it" is a phrase that sounds petty, and one can imagine a rich man strolling the golf course with his buddies of a Sunday morning using it, but it is true. However, when the people who have stood to gain are able to, they do work. Besides, the "gain" that the writer of Ecclesiastes is talking about is probably monetary, it is something that can be counted and respected. How many millions of people around the world work dusk till dawn to feed themselves and their children, and that's it? The work that charities do creates capital that is then used to help anyone without the resources to help themselves. This is not foolish, it is admirable.
I had a conversation with a friend a while ago where we talking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I am no sociologist and would not presume to analyse it here, when there are enough papers available already, but I believe it highlights the different attitudes people have to respect and fulfilment in different circumstances and cultures. I had seen an episode of MTV cribs recently and was appalled at how opulent the house this inarticulate skinny white guy was showing off. Maybe I'm just not that into the idea of being rich, but with the personal and safety needs dealt with, he had taken the need for esteem, belonging and actualisation to a tacky, widescreen, petrol-pumping extreme. I get so angry at these programmes. Extreme Makeoever: Home Edition as well. Sure, there are people who have been through some serious personal crisis, with no home to speak of, but if they took a quarter of the budget on these houses and went over to Rwanda, they could build as large and as beautiful a home there as in the US. As I said, I'm no sociologist, but there are some massive things wrong with Western society when its people seek love, status and actualisation in third homes and walk-in wardrobes, and are encouraged to do so.
Back to Ecclesiastes. Turns out, the entire book is a poetic extension of the adage "Life's a bitch". Scholars reckon that some of the more depressing - and therefore impious - passages were toned down over the years. The author's premise is that Death makes no distinctions, so life itself and finding joy in life is pointless. There are quite a few theological books out at the moment on the nature and possibility of an afterlife. Some conclude that there is no life after death, but that it should not stop us from leading lives of humility and Jesus-led grace. For thousands of years, Jews lived according to the laws of the Torah, dedicated to God, without believing that at the end of their lives they would find reward in an afterlife. Perhaps if we lived as if there was no reward, the gift of life would be enough. In fact, if we ceased using the rhetoric of "seeing the Lord face to face" or "when I stand in glory", it might encourage more selfless lives. If Christians believed that they were living for a better world now and after they died, rather than an existence now and a better world for themselves after they died, there would be so much activism and fervour for justice and respect in the world that things might change.
This blog isn't just about keeping myself accountable to lewd behaviour, it's being held accountable full stop. I say these things, I think these things and yet I'm not pushing my way to the front line. I'm not trying the chaste thing so that one day God will pat me on the head and usher me into heaven. Plenty of non-Christian girls out there would quite like to find someone who respects them enough to wait, or who doesn't pile on the pressure (and the vodka). For the next few days its about looking for a way I can work and toil and use my skills in such a way that others gain, because it is foolishness in the world's eyes but it is just and it's what Jesus would have wanted.
posted by from sychar to eternity at 11:19
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