Solomon Declared, “Everything is meaningless, says the teacher, completely meaningless! What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4) As human beings, we all strive for something. Solomon did, and he recounts his frustration with finding a purpose for living (meaning for existence).
What in your life are you trying to do that’s not going well? Some churches hire a pastor because they think he will grow the church. That is not the pastor’s job! That is Christ’s job because He said, “If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. He said this to indicate how He was going to die.” (John 12:32-33) The pastor’s and the church’s job is to lift up Christ.
Some pastors are so stressed they convince the church they need to build a family life center to grow. When the building is completed, the pastor then adds it to his resume and starts looking for an new church while the existing is left with a large debt. That is not a good thing!
A large problem is we expect too much in results from ourselves and too little from God. The psalm writer tells, us, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builder is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones.” (Verses 1-2) David recognized this as shown in his instructions to Solomon about building the Temple and his prayer to God for Solomon. (1Chronicles 28:20 and 29:19)
The early church understood this principle. As Jesus instructed His disciples after His resurrection, they returned to Jerusalem and waited for the Holy Spirit to come and fill them. They spent those days and the years after Pentecost in prayer and study of the Scriptures. That was how the early church grew and that is how the church will again grow both individually and corporately. That is described as gold, silver, and precious stone; our work without God is described as wood, hay, and stubble.
Let God be God in our lives and in our churches.