Ecclesiastes And My Tin Foil Hat

You know I really like a good conspiracy theory. I just love it when someone comes up with ideas and concepts the defy conventional wisdom or fly in the face of what is commonly considered. There is very little that I won't read or give a good listen to if it makes some sort of sense. I would dare say my tinfoil hat is as large as it gets. Having said that I have to say that at some point people need to get a grip on reality.

I go to a lot of different websites that feature all sorts of alternate news, the kind of stuff that you don't usually hear in mainstream, and I have noticed an interesting pattern; Once something doesn't happen they tend to ignore it and move on to the next disaster scenario that they can think of. The whole Mayan calendar date is a fine example of that.

Over the last few years ,leading up to the winter solstice of 2012 , I swear there were new doom and gloom scenarios posted on line every other day. I know that between the Mayans and the idea of a mysterious planet “X” that was supposed to come and screw us all up many different groups and individuals wrote countless books and articles of how to prepare for the end of the world. Yet now that nothing has happened there is a whole lot of silence from those same people.

Today we have everything from the new Pope being the antichrist, to the DHS wanting to start a war with the American people,as well as more ideas and thoughts of how the world is going to end through various prophecies or from alien influence. I am not saying that some of this isn't true, there isn't any real way to know until something happens, but because of the spin that is usually put on things, by both sides of whatever theory, I have found almost everything hard to believe anymore.

So here is my solution and feel free to make it yours.

Life is too short to waste on worrying about absolutely everything so I'm not going to. If the Pope or President Obama is the anti-Christ or DHS starts a war with the rest of us, there isn't anything I can do to stop it. Yes, I can pay attention to what is going on ,and I do believe me, but I can't make it so much of my focus that I stop enjoying the life that God has given me. Which is something that I have done and I know others who still do. Here is a couple of verses from Ecclesiastes that I like to read just to remind me and to make the point.

I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. Eccl. 3: 10-13

Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. Eccl. 5:18-20

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. Eccl. 9:9

I could be wrong here but it seems that God , through the writing of Solomon and his life experience, that we are to enjoy this life that God has given to us and not only should we enjoy it we should remember that this life is a gift from God. No where does it say that we should spend out time in worrying about the things we can't change nor should we spend our time racing after worthless things, rather, instead, we should eat , drink, and enjoy the spouse that we have and celebrate the life that God has given us.

So I guess this is my simple solution. I can't change much of anything that is happening or is going to happen so therefore I am going to rejoice, rather than worry, in this life God has given. That is not to say that there won't be moments of banging my head against a wall, but I am refusing to let disaster and doom be my focus. No, I won't be putting my tinfoil hat away any time soon, but I think I'll spend more time on the things that are more important; have aliens actually landed in DC ?

Shalom.