{"id":174,"date":"2012-02-22T06:29:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T13:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/looking-for-god-in-all-the-wrong-places\/"},"modified":"2012-02-22T06:29:00","modified_gmt":"2012-02-22T13:29:00","slug":"looking-for-god-in-all-the-wrong-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-for-god-in-all-the-wrong-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for God in all the wrong places"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\nIf you ever think the Bible is from ancient days and really doesn\u2019t apply to modern society,\u00a0read Ecclesiastes. Solomon<\/a> was a king. He had thousands of women at his beck and call. He had gold and rubies, silver and rubies. There wasn\u2019t a cubic\u00a0zirconium\u00a0to be found in his house. <\/span>He had vineyards and horses, a different house for every day of the week, and \u00a0a garage full of gleaming chariots. It\u2019s like watching MTV, or Hollywood insider or just watching your neighbor..<\/span>

<\/span>
So how\u00a0does Solomon start his magnum opus?<\/span>\n

\u201c\u2018Meaningless! Meaningless!\u00a0Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless,\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Talk about a bad mental outlook. With all that he had, the\u00a0man just wanted to stay in bed.\u00a0He simply didn\u2019t\u00a0want to face the rat race, wondering if life was worth the battle.\u00a0He didn\u2019t want to look the world in the eye is because he didn\u2019t think anything he did mattered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVanity of Vanities<\/a><\/i><\/b>\u201c, he says in the olde English.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n
He heard some of the same voices that speak to all of us.\u00a0He looked for purpose in the world systems, in learning and in accomplishment.\u00a0 He looked for meaning in his vast empire.\u00a0 He looked for purpose in relationships and pleasure.\u00a0 What he was really looking for was a replacement for God.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
\nIt was Pascal who said this, \u201cThere is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, make known through Jesus.\u201d<\/span><\/span>

<\/span><\/span>
Oh how we spend our existence, trying to fill the ache, the empty void. But nothing fits quite right.<\/span><\/span>
Like Solomon, we\u2019re looking for God in all the wrong places. The radio shrill screams says, \u201cWe can\u2019t no satisfaction.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I\u2019m wondering, if I\u2019m chasing the wind? Am I pursuing all the wrong things, and finding frustruation? What about you. What do you chase after, only to find it terribly unsatisfying in the end? I would love to hear your thoughts here. <\/a><\/span>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n\u201cI did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted;\u00a0I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>So all my accomplishments gave me joy;\u00a0this was my reward for all my effort.\u00a0<\/span>Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished\u00a0<\/span>and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it,\u00a0<\/span>I concluded: \u201cAll these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless \u2013\u00a0<\/span>like chasing the wind!\u201d<\/span><\/i>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you ever think the Bible is from ancient days and really doesn\u2019t apply to modern society,\u00a0read Ecclesiastes. Solomon was a king. He had thousands of women at his beck and call. He had gold and rubies, silver and rubies. There wasn\u2019t a cubic\u00a0zirconium\u00a0to be found in his house. He had vineyards and horses, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,510,537,621,817],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecclesiastes","category-looking-for-god","category-meaninglessness","category-pascal","category-solomon"],"yoast_head":"\nLooking for God in all the wrong places<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you ever think the Bible is from ancient days and really doesn't apply to modern society,\u00a0read Ecclesiastes. 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<\/a>
(First of Five posts. Tune in for the four more posts over the next few weeks about the ways we are trying to replace God)<\/i>\n<\/p><\/div>\n