OUTLINE

1.  INTRODUCTION

2.  THE FUTILITY OF LIFE

3.  "INCLUDING" GOD IS NOT ENOUGH

4.  THE WEDDING DAY ILLUSTRATION

5.  APPLICATION

6.  MEDITATION

     a. MAN'S WEAKNESS

     b. GOD'S POWER

7.  PLEASING OURSELVES AND PRESERVATION

8.  OUR SIGNIFICANT INSIGNIFICANCE

9.  THE INTENTIONAL ASPECT

    TWO COMMANDS

    a. LOVING EVERYONE

    b. LOVING THE UNBELIEVER

10. THE REACTIONARY ASPECT

11. SUMMARY IN WORSHIP

   It is not about us and our desired way; it is about God!

The idea of living life like it is "all about God" instead of "it is all about us" needs to be our underlying attitude. We are either men or women. It is something we just know. We never have to remind ourselves. Even though a man may have some feminine mannerisms or a woman may feel like a tomboy, their physical attributes reveal their identity. In the same way when we were born again, we were given an identity, a new one, that we belong to God. Crying easily or being tough does not identify us. They are what we do or feel, not who we are. In the same way, the experiences we have in the world does not identify us either. The identity that God has given Christians is that they are His children. 

What does a discussion about the futility of life have to do with it being all about God? For many people, It takes seeing one's frailty along with the futility of life to come to the realization that there is an immense difference between them and God.

   The futility of life apart from God is a significant truth for one to embrace

How can we come to the point where we embrace anything?  We can learn by:

• listening to others who have studied

• listening to others who have experienced something more than we have

• observing the success or failure of others.

• experience something ourselves to a degree that we become convinced.

When it comes to most important life issues, we simply do not have enough life to learn by our own experiences. Thankfully, when it comes to spiritual matters, we have the Bible. If we only trusted the Bible completely...  Consider the experience of Solomon.  It is important that we see that our lives are futile without God.

Solomon was much wiser than most and has shared wisdom with us. He spends much of

Ecclesiastes describes life on earth without a focus of living for God. That said, James was able to sum up Solomon's "ramblings" and answer the question about life in just one sentence. 

In Ecclesiastes what does Solomon call meaningless?
 

Throughout the Bible, people reasoned with one another to seek truth. If trusting in Solomon's conclusions is not convincing, give thought to,

   reason what it is that gives meaning to life.

We can observe those who have what we may not have to discern if the attainment of what we desire after has brought fulfillment in their lives. Celebrities for example, have significantly more popularity, talent, influence and material things than most people in even the richest countries in the world. Along with all their "successes" they have a significantly higher than average divorce rate. (source) They also have significant problems with drug and alcohol abuse. (source) How does one who is rich, good looking, or famous know who their real friends are? It is much more difficult than it is for the average person. Their earthly accomplishments that much of the world strives after clearly are not the answers to fulfillment. Often, for this group, it has brought more heartache.

Since we do not have enough life and resources to learn many important lessons, let us reason about what brings fulfillment. Most people do not and can not have Solomon's perspective. Most need to be rich to see the futility of riches. Those without the pleasures of the world falsely think,

   "If only I had this or that, my life would be good."

It is when one either attains all they desired after or one is able to visualize having attained it, that they really realize those things do not fulfill. What purpose does man have on this earth if not for God? Is it to please oneself in the highest possible manner? Or is it to sacrifice one's life for others to either reduce suffering or to improve their quality of life? To what end? Is it so humanity as a whole can enjoy the earth with the least amount of suffering and the most amount of pleasure? What will that current and next generation do with more pleasure? What do celebrities do with it?  They fight with each other (divorce) and medicate themselves more than those who are without those commonly desired luxuries of life. Perhaps life would be fulfilling if we should teach everyone to show kindness and love to one another. Would not humanity be better off if we did our best to emulate the life once had in the (from an unbeliever's perspective, "story of") the Garden of Eden? Think about the chances of that happening. Mankind has proved that even with the presence of God and God's people in the world that the world tends toward evil and corruption rather than good. We only need to look at the wars of the past century and the corruption from those in power both elected and dictators alike to know that man just can not figure out how to get along much less work toward a utopian society, a society full of love. Without the good and love that comes from God, we can not even approach the life of the Garden of Eden. Mankind without God is ultimately doomed to people striving to become more selfish at the expense of others.

   So, why would we ever think that we as individuals can have purpose, a purpose that fulfills us throughout our lives without God?

Most Christians would agree that God must have a part in our lives for us to have a purpose and to be able to love others. If only part of us is striving for that which is eternal while a good part of our being is living for that which has no purpose, we are divided within.

   It is either about us or it is about God.

We need to give thought to both the focus of our lives and the things that we do that are not "all about God." What is the outcome of the parts of our lives that are about us? When our identity is clear to us that we are one whose life belongs to God, our decisions and reactions are based on us living for God. When we choose to do something, we choose it as one carrying out the desires of one's leader or boss. When we experience difficulty, we view it as not only being under God's control, but being for His ultimate purpose.

A serious fallacy that many Christians fall into is having a belief system described like this.

1. God is powerful.

2. He died for me so I can go to Heaven.

3. He wants me to give Him my time on Sundays, Bible studies when I can, when I am reading the Bible and when I am praying.

4. The rest of the time I should try not to sin.

5. If I trust Him, most of my problems will get resolved.

6. As long as I am not doing anything wrong the rest of the time, I am living the way God wants me to.

What is the problem with this list?  It is the fifth and particularly the final item. It shows that this believer sees their Christian life as a life of doing, rather than being. A rewrite of the final item is better stated like this. 

• The rest of the time, every moment I can, I think of how I can please God. I ask God to guide me in my decisions and my reactions. I ask God to show me how to love others the way they need love. When I encounter an unbeliever, I ask God to show me what to say. When things are pleasant, I thank God. When they are not, I think of how much God loves me and His past faithfulness and I trust God to turn things I see as bad for good. I belong to God. My life belongs to God so I try to live each moment as His servant.

The biggest difference between these two points of view is that

   one sees a "God time" and a "me time." The other sees all one's time as belonging to God.

The fact that we are here for His Glory and His purpose, should be as real to us as whether we are a man or a woman.  

The illustration of the bride's wedding day on the main foundations page is helpful in us seeing how our lives should be all about God.  For those few hours, It would be considered unconscionable for someone to do something to upset the bride or even not to give in to any reasonable wish that she had. Most friends and family would not only jump to the occasion of helping, and they would be pleased to do so and feel honored to have been of help. In fact some would have boasted later how the bride asked them for help. When asked to do an important task,

   one who loves the bride does not think of what they are missing out on while serving, but only how to please the bride. 

This is the attitude that God wants us to have as his children; to live in a particular way that demonstrates that everything in our life is all about Him, not about us. We live in a particular way when "it is all about God" versus when "it is all about us".  Our attitudes and ultimately our actions show who we are living for. Many people never grasp the concept of it being "all about God," not "about them." Many of those that do, forget it over time as the things of the world draw them back into thinking that living in this world is all or at least mostly about them.

   Everything in the world, in the horizontal plane, is drawing our attention to ourselves.

It takes continuous discipline, looking vertically often to remind us of who we really are. This concept is discussed in more detail in remembering and forgetting

Consider the two extremes and what living in between looks like. The first extreme is that our entire lives are lived for God. The other extreme is that we live our life for our own pleasure to the detriment of everyone around us. It does not matter how much suffering those around us go through as long as our life is pleasurable. That may sound harsh, but in reality, for some unbelievers who believe that man is only an advanced animal, that is consistent. The in between part is that each of us is that person to some degree. Each time we sin in a way that hurts others, which most sins do, we are to some degree just focused on ourselves, ignoring or perhaps purposefully not caring that we may be hurting others. Jesus spoke about how "little" things are big in God's view.

Rather  than judge those who seem to live only for themselves, we need to look at our lives to see how in some manner we are doing the same thing. Each time we choose to live for our pleasure at the expense of others, we need to confess the selfish act and view it as living inconsistently with our identity, as belonging to God. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we can live our entire life to please God, and in relation to others, we choose to follow the teachings that 

First, we need to get the attitude implanted, the seed of truth planted so we can get a glimpse of what it looks like for our lives to be all about God. It takes more than just reading the Bible.  Many unbelievers have read the Bible and it has not helped them.

   It takes meditating on its meaning along with the illumination of the Holy Spirit,

who guides us into all truth (Jn 16:13)

Meditate on passages similar to these that describe God unimaginably far above us. As we see more clearly the vast difference between God's power and ours, it becomes naturally clear that the only purpose that can matter in our lives is His purpose.
 

For more about God's power, read Job 38:1-14

Meditating on these should result in an attitude of awe, of a deep realization that God is so far superior to anything we can even imagine. Close your eyes and do your best to grasp a glimpse of His glory, His power, His everlasting nature. It is mind boggling, beyond comprehension. We need to set this memory the best we can. Come back to it often, particularly when you note either the pleasures or pain of this world. We will find ourselves in a spirit of thankfulness and or peace. Come back to it daily and test the things you do each day, including the thinking throughout your day and

   test whether or not you are living as one who serves an unimaginable God. Think about the ultimate futility of serving yourself.

The Bible says that we are a mist in the air, coming from dust and when we die returning to dust. Stop and consider your life. Consider that the smartest and particularly the most loving people in the world just a hundred years ago are for the most part forgotten. What is your life? For a person without a relationship with God, life consists of self-preservation and self-pleasure. It is senseless with their world view to show love (doing what is best for the other person) to others unless they are getting something equal or greater in return. So, they are left with the purpose of maximizing self-pleasure, which Solomon calls meaningless.

   It is God who gives purpose, and that purpose is to give Him Glory by the way we live our lives.

We still need times of self-preservation, and God blesses us with times of pleasure. In those times particularly we must have a spirit of thankfulness to God.  The underlying focus of our life is to please Him by getting to know Him better and by loving others.   

Look at this line representing human history and note the dot.

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Consider that dot compared to a line showing 5000 years of human history is your life. Seeing that dot as your life may help give perspective of your life as a mist. 

God has given you that dot, a certain amount of time that He has ordained. Even though in one sense, you are insignificant, Christ died for you, adopted you, and desires a relationship with you. There is no other dot like you. Consider this verse.

The pathway to living so it is all about God is clearly expressed in Col 3:17

Two aspects of our lives are the INTENTIONAL which is the focus of our lives and our REACTIONS to events.

The intentional part of our life, holding onto truth and acting on it is crucial in living for God instead of for ourselves. It is the purposeful part of our lives, our choices when we are not experiencing any significant outside pressure.

When we are looking horizontally at the world, there is darkness even though the devil, who disguises himself as the "angel of light" makes it look pretty. When we look up to God as the giver and sustainer and the one who gives purpose to our life, we will naturally live like the child of God that we are, the light shines out of us, and people glorify God. That is our purpose.

In addition to Col 3:17 above, the Bible clearly lays out how both living in the world and living for God can be done simultaneously. 

This passage teaches something that many Christians miss. It is all summed up in the word, "whatever." That includes everything. 

   God wants all of our time, our hearts, and our minds.

He wants to be at the center of all of our activities and thoughts. Our Sunday mornings, Bible study times, and prayer times are important. Just like we do not only have certain times each day when we know we are either a man or a woman, God wants us to always know that our lives belong to Him.

What do we do? First, work HARD, as the Bible says, with ALL of your heart. Work hard at your job, at taking care of your possessions, at being the best spouse, the best child, the best parent, the best employee you can be. Work hard at being responsible with your money, health, possessions and time that the Lord has given you. Your body is a temple of the holy Spirit. It is the vehicle that takes you through your life. Do you give enough energy into keeping it healthy?  If not, consider what change in your thinking is needed so you will make that change.

   Your time on this earth is a blessing from God.

It can not be said better than this: 

    Prioritize the work toward each as you believe they are important to GOD,not to your earthly desires. And do all these FOR God. 

Jesus kept it simple for us.  Jesus replied:

The proper attitude to have at all times is how we can please God. Part of the way we please God is to love (do what is best for no matter how we feel) others.

Consider each person you encounter, particularly those who you spend significant time with. Seek to find out what their real needs are and love them with God's love by meeting those needs. At times, the needs others have is clear. We can love people by helping carry something or helping around the house. Many times it is not clear at all. Many husbands have a hard time knowing how to love their wives at any given moment. Giving people money when in a bind may be exactly the opposite of loving them. They may need to experience consequences to motivate them to make positive changes. They may need time teaching them and encouraging them not to be wasteful or to work harder. Many things that people call love are enabling people to remain in unhealthy situations.  Our ongoing prayer should be,

   "show me how I can love others with your love today."  

This ongoing prayer is an example of how this commonly not understood verse is practiced.  

Another passage that can give us guidance when we want to know how to love others properly is Solomon's example. He asked God for a discerning heart.

Following the directives in these passages trains us to look to God, to see that it is ALL about Him. Many husbands have been brought to their emotional knees by not looking vertically for the answer about how to love their wives. Applying the truth, that it is all about God, not about us is actually very freeing.

   A husband's job is not to fix his wife, nor the relationship, but to be the best husband he can be,

not for his wife, but for the Lord. When we live the best we can for the Lord, two things happen. 

1. God is pleased. 

    

   "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." Heb 13:16.

2. We are rewarded. See Col 3:23-24 above. Also consider, 

    

   'Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.'  Eph 6:7-8

The amazingly freeing part is that we KNOW that God is pleased and rewards us for our obedience.  So, when we perform any act of service, of love for another, whether we get a thank you or not does not matter. At a job, if we help out another employee, who would choose a thank you from that employee over a good job pat on the back from the boss and a paycheck? We work for the paycheck, not the thank you from fellow employees. In the same way,

   our work on earth is for God, not others. 

We have received the most important acknowledgement because our Heavenly Father is pleased. So, there is no disappointment when whatever we do, we do for the Lord.

The greatest need of an unbeliever is salvation. There are countless ways to show love to others. Showing love to them has a wide range of actions. If it is someone you will only have five minutes with, it may be sharing the Gospel or if you have done something to help them, to in some way let them know you are a Christian. If it is a close friend or family member who has heard the gospel message, it may be day in and day out, living like Christ in their presence, showing them love even though you may never initiate conversation about spiritual things. That said,

   the gospel can ONLY be shared with words.

The reactionary aspect falls into three categories. 

1. When we are doing our best, doing right, and we are attacked in some manner.  

2. When something happens to us.

3. When we have done "wrong" and we receive a reprimand.

The manner in which we react to what happens to us is looked at in detail in the topic: 10) God often uses the consequences from the fall, (sin and corruption), which results in our hardship to discipline us, to teach us about Him.