Does It Matter?

To those who would deny God or claim there is no God I have to ask two questions.

1) Does it make a difference what you think?

If God is who He says He is, He does not need your approval to exist or to function in any way He pleases. Even if you deny Him He is still there. If you refuse to acknowledge His hand in creation and attribute the balance and order of the universe to a random evolution that drew what is out of the chaos that once was it does not mean God is going to change His mind about what He is doing because of your puny lack of faith or recognition.

If there were no God then ones denial of His existence would be a moot point. So what?

Whether there is or is not a God, what you think about it does make a difference. To other like-minded souls it will make a difference. It will make a difference in your behavior. After all, being accountable to a higher power can be so binding and oppressive. But you will require some personal and social standards to keep things from getting out of control. Hmm. You still have rules and accountability. I guess some things never change.

2) Does it matter what you think?

Does it really matter what you think? If there were no God you would be right! I am sure that would count for something to some one somewhere. If you could only prove it.

Now there is the problem. If God is who He says He is there is no earthly, scientific, philosophical, sociological, psychological (unless you stretch it to some form of para-psychology) or even theological way to disprove His existence. In fact, these disciplines, such as they are, are more likely to lean toward the existence of God than away from Him.

Does it matter to God what you think? I think He cares. In the big scheme of things it may seem a small matter but on the personal level it could mean everything. If God is as big and comprehensive as He claims to be then what you think is known to Him and He has an appropriate response. If you have the intellectual capacity to unlock the barriers of your mind and assume for a moment that God made the universe and He made you, and He has the ability to be conscious of your existence along with all the other billions of people on the earth, what do you think His response should be? Should He just leave you alone? Should He hold you accountable? Should He care at all about you? Should He love you and want you to love Him in return?

I know where I stand. God does love me and He wants me to love Him in return. He also holds me accountable for my lack of rightness (That’s right, we call it sin.) but is willing to forgive if I will love Him. In order to love Him I need to believe in Him and if I believe in Him I need to obey Him by believing that He paid the price for my unrighteousness when He gave His Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross for my sins. I guess it does matter what you think.

The Message of Ecclesiastes

Vanity and Vexation of Spirit

Solomon had the most glorious earthly life one could have desired in terms of the material and the carnal and the pleasures of this world. His life was “cart blank” (a blank check). He could have and do virtually anything he pleased. From his 300 wives and 700 concubines to his tremendous wealth to his fantastic construction projects (including the Temple that might have been his legacy) Solomon lived beyond the dreams of mankind. Add to it all his tremendous mental and intellectual capacity and Solomon is one of the “Super Men” of the Bible.

Yet, with all this Solomon declared his life to be empty (vanity) and frustrating (vexation of spirit).

I believe Solomon was a man of faith but throughout much of his life he did not live by faith. It appears that with his tremendous knowledge and wisdom came a thirst for experience that lead him down some very shady pathways in his life. When God loosed the reigns of Solomon’s human limitations Solomon ran wild, compelled to try everything and push all limits, running farther and faster than any before him but in the end, getting nowhere.

Solomon may be an illustration of man at his highest capacity with unlimited resources and potential. He may be a small sample of what mankind would have become had Adam and Eve been allowed access to the Tree of Life after the fall and they and their offspring’s physical and mental capacities remained intact from the time of creation.

Before we become too enamored with Solomon’s charmed life we need to keep in mind that in the end he regretted much of what he had done, repented of his selfish and carnal behavior and turned to God for comfort, personal fulfillment, peace, joy and purpose in his life. With all his wisdom (skill, intelligence, intellectual capacity, intuitive knowledge and higher reasoning) he had failed to include God into the equations of life and found only inequities and errors (vanity). He finally concluded that the answers to life’s problems – mathematically of otherwise- are found in faith (empowered belief) in God and obedience to His Will.


RLH