As I get older, one of the things I have noticed is how much more piddling I do. You know what I mean by piddling: all the little time wasters that you do to keep from doing what needs to be done. I remember visiting a church that had "Piddling Pads for Little Presbyterians" in the pews, so I know the term is pretty common.
I think this is one of the reasons preachers struggle with all their sermons on "redeeming the time." Deep down, a lot of us are piddlers. When we hear sermons on how we are supposed to be working all the time, we just tune them out. We know it's never going to happen.
I think it is also one of the reasons that video games are so popular. They allow us to spend hours doing nothing of value, but feeling good about ourselves. What more piddling could you want?
Piddling is just part of how we roll, I think. We have always had piddlers. When we think of the "old days" we usually think of really serious and dedicated people working all day long. We think this because that's what we have been told.
But the more history I read, the less impressed I am with this argument. I think people have always varied in their dedication to doing busy work, or even doing real work, just as they vary today. We do not spend every moment preaching or studying or praying or witnessing or working. In fact, we are not supposed to do so.
The Preacher tell us something interesting: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." Ecc. 11:9. That's right, we are supposed to rejoice in our youth. We are supposed to "let our hearts cheer us." We are supposed to "walk in the ways of our heart and the sight of our eyes." We are, in short, supposed to enjoy life. We were not put here just to work and work and work.
But, of course, there will be a judgment and we are to be aware of this. So, we both rejoice and work, we are cheered and yet we are productive. We work when it is time to work and we play when it is time to play. We do the things that our hearts and eyes give us to do, while not neglecting the things of God.
We piddle sometimes, because piddling is okay sometimes.
The next verse is also important: "Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity." I am afraid that, as a young preacher, I was often a source of vexation to people. I often hear preachers who urge us to be vexed, which seems odd given the word.
Put vexation away. Quite fixating over your piddling (as if it is sin) and just do what God has given you to do and enjoy what God has given you to enjoy.
I think this is one of the reasons preachers struggle with all their sermons on "redeeming the time." Deep down, a lot of us are piddlers. When we hear sermons on how we are supposed to be working all the time, we just tune them out. We know it's never going to happen.
I think it is also one of the reasons that video games are so popular. They allow us to spend hours doing nothing of value, but feeling good about ourselves. What more piddling could you want?
Piddling is just part of how we roll, I think. We have always had piddlers. When we think of the "old days" we usually think of really serious and dedicated people working all day long. We think this because that's what we have been told.
But the more history I read, the less impressed I am with this argument. I think people have always varied in their dedication to doing busy work, or even doing real work, just as they vary today. We do not spend every moment preaching or studying or praying or witnessing or working. In fact, we are not supposed to do so.
The Preacher tell us something interesting: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." Ecc. 11:9. That's right, we are supposed to rejoice in our youth. We are supposed to "let our hearts cheer us." We are supposed to "walk in the ways of our heart and the sight of our eyes." We are, in short, supposed to enjoy life. We were not put here just to work and work and work.
But, of course, there will be a judgment and we are to be aware of this. So, we both rejoice and work, we are cheered and yet we are productive. We work when it is time to work and we play when it is time to play. We do the things that our hearts and eyes give us to do, while not neglecting the things of God.
We piddle sometimes, because piddling is okay sometimes.
The next verse is also important: "Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity." I am afraid that, as a young preacher, I was often a source of vexation to people. I often hear preachers who urge us to be vexed, which seems odd given the word.
Put vexation away. Quite fixating over your piddling (as if it is sin) and just do what God has given you to do and enjoy what God has given you to enjoy.