Perspective

Let’s think about the word “hope”—what does it mean? Some people hope it doesn’t rain, while others hope the rain comes soon. Some hope something goes away; others hope something shows up. Some people are hopeful. Some are hopeless. Some people find hope, while others lose it.

The apostle Peter was all about focus and clarity. The gospel of Mark, believed by most theologians to be Peter’s words recorded by Mark, is straightforward, hard-hitting, and action-packed. In our passage today, Peter takes all the potential spiritual gifts (see Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4) and lists them in two broad categories—speaking and serving. 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Young parents, cherish every day. Time flies. The psalmist says it this way:

And when Solomon focuses on God and regains an eternal perspective, the doubts go away. He concludes that “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7). Our doubts are alleviated when we focus on Jesus.

What does a man gain by engaging in work? What benefits come from marketing, sales, owning a business, designing processes, and making products? Not much! That’s Solomon’s “under-the-sun” perspective. A generation works until they die, followed by the next generation that does the same thing.

Being a Christian doesn’t make time go any slower. God, through the psalmist, exhorts us to “remember how short [our] time is!” (Psalm 89:47). But we live life under the sun with an over-the-sun perspective. Each moment is a gift from God to be used to honor him.

The “best” life. The life of the world’s heroes, those we look up to while we live under the sun, is grievous. When you finally get to where you think you want to go and get ready to grab what you’ve been chasing, you find that nothing is there. It is like striving after the wind. But…Jesus changes everything.

Godly wisdom gives you the discernment to check your heart and actions first. Godly wisdom allows you to live with an eternal perspective. Godly wisdom is not paralyzed with a “What’s this world coming to?” attitude but is energized by allowing God to grow us into those who demonstrate what it looks like to serve him. We can’t change the world, but we can ask God to change our hearts! 

But as he observed humanity and their busy pace, he found that just like the sun chased its tail, so people chased theirs. Things “done under heaven” become the same ole same ole. We just keep running on the “treadmill of our existence.”