Insight from Ecclesiastes

I don't know what you think about the book of Ecclesiastes. I've always enjoyed reading it--I love the poetry of the way things are expressed in it--but I also readily admit that it's kind of a depressing book. But last night, while reading an article from a Focus on the Family Parents magazine, I gained a new insight from Ecclesiastes. Here is part of the humorous but realistic article, and it particularly hits home for me as I have thought a lot recently (like I always seem to be doing!) about how to wisely balance all the (constant, unceasing, persistent, urgent, overwhelming) demands for my time.

Time Crunch
by Erik Johnson

The last time I answered the question "How are you?" without saying "Busy" was 1964. I was 12.

Four decades; one wife; five kids; multiple pets, jobs, and moves later; how am I? Still busy.

I was taught that we often overestimate how much we can accomplish in a day and underestimate how much we can accomplish in a year. But deciding what to accomplish is not so easy. Do I wash the car or write the great American novel? Do I date my wife first or learn how to play the oboe? Do I go to the gym or audition for the city orchestra?

Sadly, all the seminars, books, and time management coaches have not helped me add one minute to my 24-hour day. To organize my time, I keep lists of significant next actions and someday-maybe tasks. If I complete one task a day, I will finish by 2098.

To prioritize, I cut out the unrealistic dreams. No more plans to become an astronaut, brain surgeon, and rocket scientist. This frees me to achieve the important tasks: win the Nobel Peace Prize, become a world-class chef, and learn how to use our washing machine.

I once calculated it would take me 14 years to read all the books, watch all the videos, and listen to all the music in our home library--15 if I include our eight-track tapes. To make that number more manageable, I decluttered. I emptied our shelves of everything but the absolutely necessary.

So I got rid of War and Peace. It was painful--what if I appear on a game show and have to name the main character?--but the decision brought me time to attend to other duties. Now I can learn how to use my new personal digital assistant. Too bad the manual is thicker than War and Peace...

Someone once said, "Time is God's way of keeping everything from happening all at once." Since I cannot change God's design and lengthen time, the only option is to change my must-do list. But how do I simplify my life when every magazine I've saved since the Reagan administration is still waiting to be read?

I take my inspiration from Solomon who wrote, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

This reminds me that getting things done is not as important as leaving certain items undone if they do not meet two criteria: 1) Does God think those tasks are beautiful? 2) Do they have eternal significance?...

Even today, as I have made choices about how to use my time, I have asked myself these two questions several times; and it has quickly clarified my thoughts. I always get excited about gleaning a new insight from a verse and seeing it in new ways, and to have done that with this verse in Ecclesiastes was particularly exciting since it applied so directly to my day-to-day life. I'm so grateful for how we can always learn more from God's Word; we never get to the bottom as we swim in His wisdom!