I've decided - by observation, rather than choice - that I'm the annoying guy in Bible study groups, and probably in life in general, that asks annoying questions. It's something I pride myself on, but it's also something I'm a little ashamed of.
Take for example, last night, at growth group, studying Ecclesiastes... yes, this is Cluedo...
Studying Ecclesiastes, so generally it can be a bit depressing. I think that's the way it is. That's the point it's trying to make. Everything is meaningless under the sun. If you slave or if you slack, if you shave or if you shake, it makes no difference.
Chapter four - or maybe late in chapter three, it says that the only motivation we have is being better than our neighbour... which is an interesting insight into envy.
Suddenly (assumably) Solomon starts chatting about how it's so much better if you're working with someone else - because they can lift you up if you fall down, when you lie down, you keep warm, and a cord of three strands is not easily broken.
So who was the annoying sonofacabbage who ask "Who is my neighbour? Is it the guy you're working with? If you're just trying to get one up on your neighbour, and that is your motivation for everything, how does it work with this lovely bit about warming each other up, and all that?" It got a few laughs. I sad it as deadpan as I could muster. Damn I said it well... but it got laughs! Because it's pretty funny the idea of rather than helping up your friend, you kick him when he's down, and in particular imagining a wise old Solomon with a long whispy beard, waggling his finger, saying he expects no less of you than to kick the poor bugger while he's down. Because everything is meaningless under the son.
So two things. I disrupted a lovely discussion where everyone agreed that the author was just making the point that life is about relationships, and the importance therein... so I'm a rude bastard.
The second thing is that I'm struggling to buy this sudden change in tone. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, there's this sudden Australianistic focus on mateship. Solomon, who do you think you are? You're not an Aussie, you have no right to understand mateship. I really struggle with this, because, in the context of everything before and everything after, everything is meaningless under the sun. So you and your mate, working together, toiling, whether in perfect conditions or otherwise, that work, albeit done as a team, is meaningless. Gah. It's hopeless.
I dunno. It just seems strange to me to see this random glimmer of hope in the middle before returning to the dumps...
Take for example, last night, at growth group, studying Ecclesiastes... yes, this is Cluedo...
Studying Ecclesiastes, so generally it can be a bit depressing. I think that's the way it is. That's the point it's trying to make. Everything is meaningless under the sun. If you slave or if you slack, if you shave or if you shake, it makes no difference.
Chapter four - or maybe late in chapter three, it says that the only motivation we have is being better than our neighbour... which is an interesting insight into envy.
Suddenly (assumably) Solomon starts chatting about how it's so much better if you're working with someone else - because they can lift you up if you fall down, when you lie down, you keep warm, and a cord of three strands is not easily broken.
So who was the annoying sonofacabbage who ask "Who is my neighbour? Is it the guy you're working with? If you're just trying to get one up on your neighbour, and that is your motivation for everything, how does it work with this lovely bit about warming each other up, and all that?" It got a few laughs. I sad it as deadpan as I could muster. Damn I said it well... but it got laughs! Because it's pretty funny the idea of rather than helping up your friend, you kick him when he's down, and in particular imagining a wise old Solomon with a long whispy beard, waggling his finger, saying he expects no less of you than to kick the poor bugger while he's down. Because everything is meaningless under the son.
So two things. I disrupted a lovely discussion where everyone agreed that the author was just making the point that life is about relationships, and the importance therein... so I'm a rude bastard.
The second thing is that I'm struggling to buy this sudden change in tone. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, there's this sudden Australianistic focus on mateship. Solomon, who do you think you are? You're not an Aussie, you have no right to understand mateship. I really struggle with this, because, in the context of everything before and everything after, everything is meaningless under the sun. So you and your mate, working together, toiling, whether in perfect conditions or otherwise, that work, albeit done as a team, is meaningless. Gah. It's hopeless.
I dunno. It just seems strange to me to see this random glimmer of hope in the middle before returning to the dumps...
posted by BSJ-rom at 2:07 pm
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