Livin Lively

By Peggy Lively

            Our three year old Labrador Retriever is obsessed with chasing many things: squirrels, birds, tennis balls, and any kind of reflected light. Probably her favorite thing to chase though is a laser light. It is amazing to me that she can even see that tiny red dot, much less that she is determined to “get it.” She will chase it up and down our stairs 10-15 times or around the fence in our back yard just as many times, in hot pursuit of the little red dot.

            After watching her chase it so many times, I wonder, “Does she really not understand that she’s never going to catch it?” I mean she’s a pretty smart dog, but this makes her look ridiculous.

            It’s interesting though, because so many times in our own lives we do the same thing. We chase things in this life that we think will bring us purpose and satisfaction, but they never do. Solomon, one of the wisest men that ever lived, called it chasing after the wind. “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14)

            Some of the things that Solomon chased after were wisdom and folly (or indiscretion). He says, “I thought to myself, ‘Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.’ Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:16-17)

            He also chased after pleasure:  “I thought in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to be meaningless.  ‘Laughter,’ I said, ‘is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?’  I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.” (Ecclesiastes 2:1-3)

            He tried chasing after work and still found no satisfaction: “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:17) He accomplished great projects: “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11) He chased earthly riches, and concluded that this too is chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

            Have you caught on yet that chasing after the wind is like chasing a laser light? If we are seeking to find hope and satisfaction in earthly things, it is pointless. We are never going to catch it.

            Solomon experienced this after chasing all of these things, and concluded what our purpose in life should be: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Solomon discovered this on his own, but he was also taught this by his father, King David, approximately 30 years before. “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” (I Chronicles 28:9) If we seek Him, He will be found by us! That’s a promise. No more chasing laser lights.

            We find hope and peace in seeking God and obeying Him. It is in knowing Him and following Him that we grow in wisdom and understand our purpose. 

“Come near to God and He will come near to you.” James 4:8