THE END OF THE MATTER (4 OF 4)
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
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The End of the Matter (4 of 4)
Series: Ecclesiastes
Michael White
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
Statement: I can only find true meaning in life when I pursue a relationship with God.
There is a mythological story of an Ancient King of Corinth named Sisyphus, who because of his deceitfulness and treachery, is sentenced by the gods to an eternity in hades. Yet his punishment is not a physical agony or torture that you might expect. His sentence is to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill over and over again. And every time he gets near the top, thinking he will finally make it, the enchanted boulder comes loose from his grasp and rolls back down the hill. and the cycle repeats over and over again.
And so he spends an eternity in useless repetitive monotony. It becomes unbearably frustrating as his efforts become useless, empty, and vain.
This 3,000 year old myth has been the subject of much discussion because its a picture of the monotony and the meaninglessness of human existence. You work the same kinds of jobs your whole life, you grow old you die. Then Your children go through the same endless cycle. Every morning you wake up, you go to work, you eat dinner, you go to sleep. In the words of solomon The sun rises and the sun sets. A generation comes and a generation goes. The lakes and rivers continue to flow into the sea but the sea doesn't overflow and the rivers never stop flowing. In the short time we have on earth we do not advance or have any significance. The eternal cycles of the world return to what they were.
It's all monotonous repetitive meaninglessness. The late French Philosopher Albert Camus laughably tried to answer this nihilistic view on life by suggesting that we imagine Sisyphus, that unfortunate king, happy. He compares it to someone who has been condemned to prison but if they choose to be happy in prison, it is not punishment at all, which defeats the very purpose of prison.
But the only way to be seemingly happy in such a hor ...
Series: Ecclesiastes
Michael White
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
Statement: I can only find true meaning in life when I pursue a relationship with God.
There is a mythological story of an Ancient King of Corinth named Sisyphus, who because of his deceitfulness and treachery, is sentenced by the gods to an eternity in hades. Yet his punishment is not a physical agony or torture that you might expect. His sentence is to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill over and over again. And every time he gets near the top, thinking he will finally make it, the enchanted boulder comes loose from his grasp and rolls back down the hill. and the cycle repeats over and over again.
And so he spends an eternity in useless repetitive monotony. It becomes unbearably frustrating as his efforts become useless, empty, and vain.
This 3,000 year old myth has been the subject of much discussion because its a picture of the monotony and the meaninglessness of human existence. You work the same kinds of jobs your whole life, you grow old you die. Then Your children go through the same endless cycle. Every morning you wake up, you go to work, you eat dinner, you go to sleep. In the words of solomon The sun rises and the sun sets. A generation comes and a generation goes. The lakes and rivers continue to flow into the sea but the sea doesn't overflow and the rivers never stop flowing. In the short time we have on earth we do not advance or have any significance. The eternal cycles of the world return to what they were.
It's all monotonous repetitive meaninglessness. The late French Philosopher Albert Camus laughably tried to answer this nihilistic view on life by suggesting that we imagine Sisyphus, that unfortunate king, happy. He compares it to someone who has been condemned to prison but if they choose to be happy in prison, it is not punishment at all, which defeats the very purpose of prison.
But the only way to be seemingly happy in such a hor ...
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