January 2024

Ecclesiastes 1:9 states, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  I’ve often heard that in church discussions concerning the state of the world, sin, troubles, and temptations. It’s often meant to encourage us to understand we can withstand anything Satan throws at us. The logic is simple; people have endured the same things for centuries, we can too. I’ve no doubt about the enduring part – but with the Spirit living within us, it goes way beyond enduring – we thrive when we put ourselves firmly in God’s camp.

It’s the “nothing new under the sun” part I take issue with. You see, this is Solomon speaking, and while Ecclesiastes is God-breathed scripture, God Himself often overturns the understanding of His own authors in the inspiration to bring them to a greater understanding of who He is. Job’s friends made seemingly astute observations in the book of Job, for example, but that doesn’t mean they were right.

Solomon is right in this – human nature remains the same.  We all have the capacity for really messing things up for ourselves and others.  True wickedness exists, and it is exhausting to think about and experience in the myriad forms of oppression, injustice, and unholiness we have around us. “Wearisome” is the word Solomon uses. Point taken.

But there are other points. How many times do I sing Jeremiah’s words in Lamentations 3:23? “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end… they are new every morning!” Okay. So, where Solomon finds the sun’s rising and setting wearisome, Jeremiah recognizes new grace in every new day!

Consider this – if human nature is what it is, then the cure is the same for all – namely, Jesus, who broke into this world in an entirely new way to bring salvation! “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law…” okay, you see that “but now” don’t you? Then was then. This is now. New!  Something that was not and now is!  And yet it reaches back into all time to answer the very question Solomon was asking centuries before.

But I also need to explore the darker side of this “nothing new” question – because while I believe Solomon is right in terms of our sinfulness, I believe there is something very new under the sun in terms of how our enemy attacks. It is a full court press, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, designed to keep the bulk of God’s children on injured reserve and those outside of His grace so distracted they don’t even know there is another team.

What do I mean?  Just this – Solomon was wearied by the rising and setting of a tiresome sun under which he saw people act unjustly every day.  Now? We are inundated with injustices from around the world at a pace and volume that’s debilitating. So, while it is totally legitimate for me to be very concerned about those dying in wars halfway around the world, Satan would fill me with such despair from what I see going on there that I don’t even know that my neighbor is fighting for her life against cancer. He would have me be the cave-dwelling Gideon before God got ahold of him and made him see it didn’t matter he was the least in his family in the smallest clan of his tribe. He would have me bewildered and impotent. Satan’s new tool is pace and overload.

There is a solution to this spiritual ADHD, and it has everything to do with focus. Peter sank when he took his eyes off Jesus; the point is to keep them on Him. Our Hebrews author confirms this need in chapter 12, while Peter, perhaps recalling his Galilean swim, speaks of the need to add goodness to faith, knowledge to goodness, self-control to knowledge, etc., with the benefit of becoming effective and productive. What does he contrast this with? Nearsightedness and blindness. Simply put, we can improve our spiritual vision. How?

First, get in the word. Get really in the word. Read your Bible and chew on it every day. If research is correct, for all the bad news we fill ourselves with, we should counteract with three times the amount of good news. Last time I checked, “gospel” means good news. Spend more time there than anywhere else. Ask questions of what you are reading and let the last question be, “What am I supposed to do about this?”

Second, pray continually as Paul encourages in I Thessalonians 5:17. Realize you are in the presence of God Almighty in every moment of your day and know He wants to hear from you.  Include Him in your family conversations when you are at the dinner table laughing over something and thank Him for the laughter. Cry with Him, drive with Him, run with Him, change the oil in the car with Him, you get the picture.

Third, open your eyes and see more of Jesus in everything around you. Tell yourself every day that in Him we live, move, and have our very being. Look at a sunrise or your children and see the beauty God has placed in all His creation and be thankful.

Fourth, talk about your walk with God with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Make it a focus to be an encouragement to others to live this life of faith. Ask them how they are doing and seek advice how to be more Christlike and less world-like. And yes, the place where God intended for you to do this is in that collection of believers called the church. It’s also a great place to learn how to get along with people!

Finally, when the Spirit says, “Right there in front of you I have a way for you to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” don’t hesitate – be His hands and feet. Look after the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner living in your midst. Be the Samaritan and love your neighbor.

In the end, we might find there is one more new thing under the sun – ourselves….