What's Worth It? Week 8: The End

This is the final installment in the series.

"Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties.
After all, everyone dies—
so the living should take this to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us.
A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time."

-Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 (NLT)

Modern culture might call this morbid, but life is not about being happy all the time. Sadness is an important element to maturity, growth, and human relations. (Or at least, that’s the message behind the movie Inside Out).
In the past several weeks, we’ve been asking ourselves, “What’s worth it?” First, we ruled out some things.

Ecclesiastes 8:7-8. We’ve learned that avoidance of suffering is not worth it. (How can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen?)

Ecclesiastes 8:12. Pursuing unrestrained pleasure is not worth it. One who fears God may not seem as prosperous, but they’re still better off.

(And though we didn’t spend much time on this, pursuing wealth is not worth it. Ecclesiastes 5:8-17. Or Linds Redding: “A Short Lesson on Perspective.” Or, an even shorter version.)

Then, we built a framework of understanding. We examined our values, compared them against our choices, and learned the importance of taking responsibility. We also realized that waiting for perfect understanding is pointless because we’re never going to perfectly understand anything, ever. At best, we can try, learn, and do better next time.

But why worry about any of this anyway? Why even worry about what’s worth it at all?

Because we all have an expiration date. The test has a time limit, and we never know when time is up. Ecclesiastes 9:12 Tragedy can happen suddenly. This should put things in focus.

You can react to this with hopelessness…

“We’re all going to die, all of us. What a circus! That alone should make us love each other, but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by life’s trivialities; we are eaten up by nothing.”
-Charles Bukowski. [Source]

…or you can reconcile with the way things only have meaning when death is in the background.

“Death is the light by which the shadow of all of life’s meaning is measured. Without death, everything would feel inconsequential, and metrics and values suddenly zero.” – Mark Manson [Source]

In this life, the same fate awaits us all (Ecclesiastes 9:3), so there’s no sense in worrying about being the best, the fastest, the wisest, the richest, the most successful, or the best educated. (Ecclesiastes 9:11) Those bits of fading status are for people whose only concern is the present moment.

Instead, we should focus on the kinds of things our values and choices have shown are worth it. Ecclesiastes 5:16-18 and 8:15. Having fun is worth it. Eating, drinking, and enjoying life is worth it. This doesn’t mean overindulge, but put it in the context of time spent with people.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-2. Generosity is worth it. With patience, generosity has a way of coming back around. Whether time, money, or something else – showing generosity brings contentment that you’re helping to make the world a better place.

Ecclesiastes 5:19. Enjoying your health is worth it. This has particular relevance.

In the time we’ve been meeting, one person in our group experienced a death in the family. At the deceased’s memorial service, one speaker’s message related how he spent his past few years since his diagnosis with cancer. He went on a cruise with his family. He pursued forgiveness, studied the Bible, and was baptized. After a decision to end chemotherapy, he entered hospice, put his affairs in order and passed away in his home.

So enjoy your health while you have it.

The same passage says finding enjoyment in your work is worth it. (Note: This isn’t “do what you love.” Rather, it’s “find a way to enjoy what you do.” [Source])

Ecclesiastes 5:20 says, “People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy.” (NLT 1996) There is one final conclusion at the end of Ecclesiastes 12. In verses 12-13, the writer acknowledges there’s no end to the opinions one can listen to, but if there’s one thing that’s worthwhile, it’s this:

“Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person.” (NLT)

*That*, friends, is what’s worth it.

Questions for discussion:

1. What was your first experience with death?
2. What are the things you hope will outlast you?
3. Is wisdom really not “worth it”?

What's Worth It? Week 7: Failing

On the list of things worth pursuing in life, you probably wouldn't list Failure. Yet failing is a product of trying -- an aspect of risk -- and since no one ever achieves perfection, failing to some degree is inevitable.

This can be difficult, because perfection is in high demand these days. Employers look for the perfect job candidate. Singles look for “the One” person they are meant to be with.

And consumers of popular movies and television shows complain when their favorite shows don’t go the way they want (e.g. Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc).

The pressure to get things right can be intimidating, and can lead us to delay (or call off) necessary choices. Should we act now, or get more input first? Should we apply for that job now, or skip it because we don’t meet ALL the qualifications? Should we risk pursuing someone, and maybe suffer a breakup or a divorce? There’s no right answer; each one of these is a question of wisdom, and none of us has enough of it to answer.

The writer of Ecclesiastes faced the same dilemma. In Ecclesiastes 7:1-24, we see him draw some conclusions, but by v.23 even he realizes that the wisdom he sought was, ultimately, beyond him. And in in v.20 he recognizes that there’s no one who’s perfect in all they do.

In the New Testament, Paul recognized this as well. 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 talks about how knowledge was deficient as a guiding principle when compared to love. As he stated, they saw things imperfectly, “as through a glass, darkly” (KJV), but when “the time of perfection comes,” (NIV), we would see everything “with perfect clarity.” (NIV)

If I understand that right, Paul knew very well that he didn’t have all the answers, yet he didn’t let that delay him or stop him from doing what he thought was right.

So then, what about us? Should lack of knowledge or lack of wisdom prevent us from taking action? Paul’s ministry began long before he wrote I Corinthians, and – in a way – we have the Bible now because he took action before he had the best wisdom or the best ministry know-how.

Acting now – and accepting the very real risk of failure – seems to be the Michael Jordan path to success. As Jordan explained,

“I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”Source

Again, the writer of Ecclesiastes sees this as the best way. Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 advises that – since you can’t know everything – you’re better off acting than waiting for better conditions. But “just as you cannot understand the path of wind,” there’s really no telling how things will turn out.

Failure and setbacks are real, and like suffering they definitely are is not enjoyable. But just as earlier, when we talked about how suffering for a good cause is a path to happiness, failure can provide some great lessons. Here, six entrepreneurs shared what they learned from their failures. [Source]

And how you deal with failure shows what kind of person you are.

“Successful bright people rarely experience failure, and so they don’t learn how to learn from that failure …They, instead, commit the fundamental attribution error, which is if something good happens, it’s because I’m a genius. If something bad happens, it’s because someone’s an idiot or I didn’t get the resources or the market moved.” – Laszlo Bock, senior vice president of Google’s human resources.

“Then who does the best at Google? According to Bock, it’s the people who ‘argue like hell’ and be ‘zealots about their point of view,’ but when a new fact emerges, they’ll be able to admit that the situation has changed–and they’re not right.” [Source]

Success in life – however we measure it in accordance with your values – comes only if we are willing to admit we don’t have all the answers, take risks, fail, and grow from the experience. The failures may be bitter, but as Proverbs 27:7 says, “A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.”

Paul took risks. By the time of 2 Corinthians 11:25, he’d been shipwrecked three times. (You’d think he would learn to take the long way around the Mediterranean Sea.) But if nothing else, it taught him a few things about shipwrecks (1 Timothy 18-19).

Samson (Judges 13-16) took risks, too – some of them, foolishly. His life decisions and failures brought embarrassment and humiliation, but in the end he was able to fulfill his purpose.

If we remember that failure – like suffering – does not correlate with godliness, then we can accept it as a learning experience rather than a punishment. It is impossible to know – in a single moment – if something is a “good” or “bad” experience.

So let us, in the spirit of Proverbs 3:5-6, trust in the Lord with all our hearts, leaning not on our own understanding, and in all our ways submit to him, trusting he will make our paths straight. If we can do that, then we won’t be afraid to take risks, fail, and keep growing for as long as we live.

Discussion Questions:

1. What failures have you had that ended up being for your benefit? Ever see a past relationship from high school and think “I’m so glad that didn’t work out”?
2. Is failure always “bad/negative” and success always “good/positive”?
3. What’s the difference between failure and success?
4. Is there anything you’ve wanted to do but have been do afraid of failure to start?

What's Worth It? Week 6: Responsibility

Choices are the acid test of values. If we say that we value something, but make choices that detract from that value, then – chances are – we don’t really value that something as much as we thought.

For example, if I say I value physical fitness, but don’t make the time to exercise, then I probably don’t truly understand my own priorities. What I really value in that situation is either getting more sleep or playing video games or working on some other priority. It could be anything, but it’s not physical fitness.

This is a situation where my actions do not match up with my values. It’s not unheard-of (Paul talked about his experience in Romans 7:14-25), but when we allow ourselves to stay in that place, we are not being authentic. In harsher terms, we are the hypocrites that the non-religious community accuses us of being.

1 Timothy 4:16 warns against this. Paul wrote “Watch your life and doctrine closely,” knowing that even in himself it is all too easy to have a mismatch.

James 2:14-17 mirrors this idea. We can’t really say we have faith unless we have the actions that back it up. A “faithful” person who doesn’t help someone in need beyond mere platitudes can’t really say they care. Values:choices :: doctrine:life :: faith:actions. Values are to choices what doctrine is to life, and what faith is to actions.

(Click to enlarge. Original from 10/9/2005)

Sometimes, we think we have certain values, but end up adjusting our values when we face a challenge. This happens all the time. Something doesn’t match what we perceive, so we dismiss it, downplay it, or get angry. The above comic shows how it happens in the business world. And of course, politics is not exempt, as seen in this example from 2003: [Link]

This kind of thing is called “cognitive dissonance.” For a longer discussion about it, Dilbert artist Scott Adams provides this explanation. [How to spot cognitive dissonance.]

But for a quick illustration, there’s this:
(Click to enlarge, Original from 9/8/1999)

Cognitive dissonance can also happen when studying the Bible. It can work like this:

1. The Bible is true.
2. I think I’m a good person.
3. The Bible says I’m actually not a good person.
4. Therefore, the Bible is wrong, and I don’t want to study it any more.

When there’s a conflict in values, you have to make a choice. In Esther 4, Esther had to make a choice between her people and her position; she chose to risk her life for the chance to save her people, and she was fully reconciled to the fact she might die. In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to make a choice between bowing to the king’s image of gold or dying in a blazing furnace; they chose the latter. And in Hebrews 11:35, we read of those who, though tortured, refused to be released.

In none of these examples was anyone at fault for the situations they found themselves in, yet they each took responsibility for what they could do. They didn’t run away from their problems. They didn’t pursue their own, pre-existing priorities. They didn’t give up on God. They set their values, made their choices, and were prepared to suffer the consequences.

Likewise, we don’t always control what happens to us. But we always control how we interpret what happens to us, as well as how we respond.

Focusing on fault locks us in a past tense discussion, but choosing to focus on what we can do in the present enables us to take responsibility for the moment. That’s where the real power is. It’s not so much that great power brings great responsibility – for us regular heroes, it’s that great responsibility brings great power.

I didn’t choose to get multiple sclerosis, and it wasn’t my fault. But other people with comparable health problems have helped me see the need to take responsibility for each moment I find myself in. Here’s a quote I’ve found inspiring, by a person who battles with obsessive-compulsive disorder:

“I didn’t choose this life; I didn’t choose this horrible, horrible condition. But I get to choose how to live with it; I have to choose how to live with it.”

If this seems daunting, don’t worry – we don’t have to be perfect at it right away. We can grow into it step by step. And that is the lesson for next week. 

Discussion questions:

1. What are some things you had to view differently about your own life when studying the Bible? How did your values change, and why?
2. In what ways do you need to watch your life and doctrine closely today?
3. What prevents us from being truthful and how can we help remove those barriers?

What's Worth It? Week 5: Choices

Last week, we distinguished between sacrifice and trials. And we learned to try for a better perspective rather than focusing on the misery of the moment.

James 1:2-4 supports this. Trials of many kinds will come, he says, but whether for spiritual reasons or not, through perseverance, trials help us we become mature and complete.

Not everyone has this kind of reaction to suffering. Consider the differences between Dave Mustaine and Pete Best.

Dave Mustaine was kicked out of Metallica in 1983. Pete Best was kicked out of the Beatles in 1962. Dave Mustaine founded Megadeth; Pete Best played in a few other bands in the 1960s. Dave Mustaine led his new band to great success, but he held onto his anger and frustration for decades, always comparing his success against Metallica’s. He never felt good enough. [Source]

Pete Best attempted suicide in 1968, when the Beatles were at the height of the fame, but came to his senses afterward. He and his wife married in 1962, and they’d had two daughters. He got a job as a civil servant in an employment office, and focused on living a normal life. The Daily Mail described him as “the happiest Beatle.”

“What's the point in saying, ‘I should have been this’, or ‘I could have been that?’ That's yesterday. Forty years ago. What's important is what's happening today and tomorrow. When you realize that, you get on with it,” he said.[The Happiest Beatle]

If something can be “bad” now but “good” later, how can we make any judgements in the moment? Everything in life has its accompanying challenges or costs. Wisdom helps us to focus on the right things.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 offers a somewhat sober assessment of wisdom, even saying that frustration is better than laughter. Verse 14 says God has made both good times and bad times, so we should accept both, for “no one can discover anything about their future.” And who’s to say something “good” won’t turn “bad” later? After all, 70 percent of lottery winners go broke.

So then, what should we choose – to look at the proverbial glass as half empty, or half full? Well, maybe we should stop measuring the glass at all, and just be happy we’re not going thirsty.

A woman named Eva Mozes Kor made such a decision in 1995, when she founded the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. About fifty years prior, she and her twin sister Miriam were sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and subjected to experiments by Josef Mengele.

Up until she passed away in July of this year, Kor spoke frequently about forgiveness.

“Forgiveness is more than just letting go. It is proactive rather than passive. We become victims involuntarily, when a person or entity with power takes away our power to use our mind or body or both. Something was done to us that put us in a position of feeling powerless. Thus, the conscious choice to forgive provides healing, liberation, and reclamation of this lost power.” [Source]

Rather than dwell on the injustices in her life, Kor focused on what she could control – her own power to put the past behind. I’ve had experience with this as well.

James 4:1-10 shows that choosing what we focus on makes a huge difference.

In 2007, soon after getting my MBA, I couldn’t find a job in a field that I’d hoped for, so I moved back to Korea to teach English for the third time. I was depressed to be stuck doing the same thing I was doing before, and looked for something else.

Then, a funny thing happened. A bank offered me a job in investor relations, but for less money than I was getting to teach. So I made a choice. I told the bank no thank you, and continued in the same job. Strangely, even though the situation had not changed at all, I was no longer depressed. Not a single thing was different, but by choosing to stay in the same job I felt happier about it.

The situations we find ourselves in aren’t always our fault, but we do have a responsibility to choose how we’re going to face it. And since our choices reflect our values, maybe it’s a good idea to go back and see if our choices and our values match up. We’ll tackle that next week.

Questions for discussion:

1. In what way do your reactions (angry outbursts, arguments, hurt feelings) show your values? And how can we reconcile what we say we value with what we show we value?
2. What’s one time when chose your suffering? How do you feel about it?
3. What happens when we avoid choosing? (we suffer anyway but not for our values/purpose)
4. How have you gotten “better” (newer, different) problems over time?

What's Worth It? Week 4: Values

What’s worth your suffering? As we talked about last time, everyone suffers. It may be for one reason or another, in some way or another, at some time or another, or to some degree or another, but everyone suffers.

Here are four reasons I can think of:

• Sacrifice. We choose to give up something of lesser value to get something of more value. For example: sacrifice time and money to get a degree. In the Old Testament, Hebrews sacrificed the blood of animals as an atonement for sins. In the New Testament, Ephesians 5:1-2 says “Jesus Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Jesus considered himself a small price compared to the value he placed on us.
  
  
• Discipline. Similar, but time based. Hebrews 12:4-11 describes discipline as an act that’s unpleasant at the time, but produces a reward. We give up something now to get something better in the future (e.g. budgeting, dietary choices, exercising).
  
  
• Punishment. The suffering we experience for breaking rules. Romans 13:1-5 says those who don’t submit to governing authorities have reason to expect punishment.
  
  
• Trials. This is the suffering we experience for no discernable reason in the moment.

Trials are tricky things, because we can’t distinguish them from punishment. In fact, we humans look for patterns even when there aren’t any. Like these images of Jesus in snack foods.

This tendency to look for patterns, even when there are none, is called apophenia.

Looking for patterns helps us make sense of the world; we’re far more comfortable with karma than we are with random suffering. Job is considered the oldest book of the Bible [Source], and this idea that “you’re being punished for your sin” was its central theme. Job and his friends went back and forth several times trying to interpret Job’s suffering. Is God like karma, or is he simply capricious? Even though God intervened at the end, He didn’t provide a clear answer, saying essentially (though authoritatively), “None of you are in a good position to question me.”

It was no easier in the New Testament.

In John 9:1-3, Jesus’ disciples see a man born blind, and they ask Jesus “Who sinned?” Jesus said the blindness was not the result of either his or his parents’ sin. He says that the man was born blind “so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

And in Luke 13:1-5, Jesus alludes to a disaster where a tower collapsed, killing 18 in Jerusalem. However, rather than explaining why those people suffered, he turned the conversation back to his present audience, saying they needed to focus on their own lives.

Even in these modern times, we’re still experiencing collapsed towers and looking at others’ sins to explain it.

When bad things happen, we look for reasons. Have you ever heard people ask “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Well, how do you define bad? It’s subjective; it can be good or bad at any given time. And how do you define good? Mark 10:18 is pretty restrictive.

So if we get rid of subjective “bad” and redefine “good” based on our value of Jesus, we can rephrase the question: “Why do things happen to people?” And then the question becomes almost comical.

Despite the plethora of explanations, the world is no closer to getting any answers why certain people suffer certain things and others don’t. But from what Job, Luke, and John imply, I suspect that looking for a clear answer is the wrong approach. Perhaps we need a better perspective.

Jesus had that better perspective on involuntary suffering. He looked beyond the blindness and the tower collapse because he valued different things. He was less interested in differentiating punishment and trials; he was more interested in the underlying message of the Gospel.

This can seem callous or dismissive, but what we choose to focus on reflects our values. We do the same thing when our children have arguments. (“I don’t care who started it; I’m going to end it!”) As parents, we value perfect justice less than we value harmony (or our own peace of mind).

Sometimes, like Jonah, we hold poor values. At first, Jonah didn’t value God’s will or helping people. He valued his own safety and personal freedom. It took a traumatic event for Jonah to reorder his priorities.

Other times, the Bible shows examples of astounding focus. In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah is lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

Yet despite a punishment that -- in his opinion -- was greater than even that of Sodom’s (Lamentations 4:6), and despite the truly horrible desperation he saw in Lamentations 4:10, he celebrated God’s unfailing compassions (Lamentations 3:19-33).

We need to first establish, then maintain a focus on, good values. That way, even if we make decisions that result in trials, we can still be confident we’ve made the right decisions. Next week, we’ll read Ecclesiastes 7, and discuss whether the glass is half empty, half full, or whether we should just be grateful we won’t be going thirsty.

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways do you respond to suffering? Anger, Hopelessness, Determination?
2. Why do you respond that way?
3. In what ways can your values help you with your suffering?
4. What should we do when we suffer in ways that don’t match our values?

What's Worth It? Wk 3: Happiness/Suffering

If you had a choice between happiness and suffering, you’d probably choose happiness. Why? Because happiness is better than suffering. Of course. But here’s the thing: happiness is not the absence of suffering – it’s in choosing the right kind of suffering.

As Americans, we grow up with the Declaration of Independence idea that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are “inalienable rights.” So we pursue happiness.

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11. But getting what you want does not make you happy.

This seems to match recent articles on the futility of the pursuit of happiness.

-Stop trying to be happy at work
-Humans are not meant for happiness

There are six references to happiness in the Bible, but none of them are about the self-centered pursuit of it:

• Deuteronomy 24:5 A new husband should bring happiness to his wife.
• Esther 8:16 It was a time of happiness, joy, gladness, honor.
• Job 7:7 Job thought he’d never see happiness again.
• Ecclesiastes 2:26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, & happiness.
• Matthew 25:21-23 (2x) Share in your master’s happiness.

And if happiness is to be found in comfort, that too is a dead end.

Luke 6:20-26. Jesus didn’t place much value on comfort. V.24 is interesting – the idea that he rich “have already received their comfort.”

Matthew 6:2 mirrors this, with the idea that the Pharisees had already received their reward in full.

In short, the pursuit of happiness and comfort do not – by themselves – lead to happiness or long-term benefit.

What about suffering?

Suffering, by itself, is not very productive. Ecclesiastes 4:1-8 clears that up.

Consider the experience of Japanese Imperial Army 2nd Lt Hiroo Onoda (小野田寛郎). Even after World War II ended in 1945, he held out in the Philippines until 1974.

You’d think he’d be happy to return home, but he found (then) modern life to be unbearable, so he moved to Brazil in 1975. Why? Was Japan so much worse compared to 29 years of survival-level existence?

No, but what sustained Onoda from 1944 to 1974 was his belief that he was suffering for a noble cause. When he moved back to Japan, he’d lost that purpose in his life. That’s what made it worse.

Comfort and peace did not make Onoda happy. In fact, they can be added stress factors in your life, as Forbes list of “12 Reasons You’re not as Happy as You Should Be” points this out. (#8’s point about “Impressing” is good.) But suffering without purpose – a.k.a. “misery” – is just as bad.

1 Peter 4:12-19. Suffering is a normal thing in life. It’s not a sign that you did something wrong. But since you’re going to suffer from something anyway, why not suffer for a good cause?

Peter was on to something. Happiness is not worth it. Neither is suffering. But if, as in Romans 5:3 suffering produces perseverance, and Hebrews 12:11 perseverance in discipline produces a harvest of righteousness and peace, then we’re left with this:

Suffering for a worthwhile purpose is what leads to happiness.

Questions for discussion

1. What makes you happy? Is it lack of suffering/difficulty/frustrations?
2. What’s the greatest thing you’ve ever accomplished?
3. Did you suffer for it, and was it worth it?

What's Worth it? Week 2: Not "being special"

Trying to be special is not worth it.

“Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.” -Ecclesiastes 1: 8-10

A survey asked 3000 aged 8 to 12 which of five professions they wanted to be when they grew up. The #1 pick for the American kids was to be a YouTube vlogger.

And American adults lament that kids these days are too entitled.

Meanwhile, Australian researchers have found that vulnerable narcissists are more likely to develop eating disorders. Their high focus on receiving validation from others, when coupled with social isolation that prevents them from receiving it, exacerbates the situation.

Exceptionalism is the idea that the uniqueness of our problems excuses our bad behaviors. Entitlement is the idea that we deserve things we haven’t earned – that we’re “better than that.” In either case, we have a skewed perception how we compare with others. Both perspectives can be equally destructive in their desire to escape mediocrity.

People in the Bible dealt with this question, too.

In 2 Kings 5, Naaman suffered from a skin disease, and traveled to Israel to be healed. When Elisha told him via messenger to wash in the less-than-pristine Jordan River, Naaman was offended. Surely I deserve better treatment than this! I’m a VIP – shouldn’t he have come to see me himself?!? He was entitled.

In Matthew 27:3-5, we see Judas dealing with the repercussions of his actions. He despaired at having betrayed the Son of God – the Messiah – and didn’t think he could ever recover.

If you had to compare yourself to everyone else on Earth, where on this bell curve would you put yourself in your relationship with God? Are you better, worse, or just like everyone else?

In physics, there’s a concept called “superposition” – the idea that a particle can be in two places at once. (If you’ve never heard of it, here’s a four-minute, animated video.

Perhaps the healthiest way to look at ourselves is to have our own “superposition” with three simultaneous understandings:

1. I’m awesome.
   • Matt 3:5 I will inherit earth
   • Rom 8:31 God is for me
   • Is 51:12 God comforts me
   • Ps 34:17-20 The Lord delivers me
   • Luke 12:6-7 I am worth more than many sparrows
   • Ps 23:6 I’ll dwell in the house of the Lord forever
2. I’m the worst.
   • 1 Cor 15:9 Paul felt he was the least of the apostles
   • Ephesians 3:8 Later, he said he was the least of all the Lord’s people
   • 1 Tim 1:15-16 Then, he said he was the worst of all sinners. Paul may have been wrong, but this understanding helped him appreciate God’s grace.
3. I am just like everyone else in that regard.
   • 2 Cor 5:15 Christ died for all
   • Acts 2:39 the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off

So what should we do with this realization? Peter’s a good example. Like Judas, Peter suffered from guilt as well. True to Jesus’ prediction, he denied being one of his followers three times. But in John 20-21, we see that instead of suicide, he kept moving forward. He turned his guilt into his motivation.

We should take pride in receiving God’s favor. We should realize that we’ve done nothing to deserve it. And we should have great empathy with others as a result.

Questions for discussion:

1. Was Paul really the worst of all sinners? Why would he think that?
2. Could Judas have been forgiven? What if he had waited three days?
3. In what ways do we show exceptionalism/entitlement in our lives? In our church?

What's Worth It? Week 1: Introduction

"Nani ike kumu." Look to the source. (Hawaiian)

This is the start of a two-month long weekly Bible discussion series called "What's worth it?". It's based off a book that a friend recommended, and I thought it did well at discussing some fundamental truths to life.

Together, we "reverse-engineered" it into something that we could use to in a Bible discussion group. The book's not necessary for the series (like those movies that are "based on a true story") but if you're interested in the source material, you can get it here on Amazon.

Or you could read Ecclesiastes, depending on which source you want to go with.

This is the "Week One" discussion. Every week, I'll email out the lessons after this introduction to those in our discussion group, and then when we meet on Tuesdays we'll go over the discussion questions.

In Ecclesiastes 1:1-2, the writer (presumably King Solomon) wrote that "Everything is meaningless!" I've often wondered what he meant by that. "Meaningless" occurs 37 times in the Bible; 33 of them are in Ecclesiastes.

(In case you're curious, other instances are Job 27:12, Isaiah 1:13 (meaningless offerings), 1 Timothy 1:6, and Titus 1:10 (meaningless talk).)

My best guess is that he meant "not worth it." In the following seven weeks, we'll look more at that.