“Meaningless! Meaningless! ”says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” -King Solomon, Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 “And I declare that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun."
“I hope everyone could get rich and famous and have everything they ever needed or dreamed of-so they will know it’s not the answer.”-Jim Carrey
“For Nearly four decades, researchers have regularly asked a large sample of Americans a simple question: Taken all together, how would you say things are these days -- would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy or not to happy? The results today are sobering. The United States, on average, is less happy than it was in 1980, even though it is vastly richer.” –Shankar Vedantam, Researcher
“People are wedded to the idea that more money will bring them more happiness. When they think of the effects of more money, they are failing to factor in the fact that when they get more money they are going to want even more. When they get more money,they are going to want a bigger house. They never have enough money, but they sacrifice their family life and health to get more money.” -Richard Easterlin, Economist at USC
“Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.”
(Chasing Value over Vanity)
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
(Moved by Compassion, not Judgment)
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
(Conferring Power rather than Power Seeking)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
(Our Determination Trumps Entitlement)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
(Living into Empathy, not Narcissism)
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”
(Embracing Fidelity over Deceitfulness)
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
(Being a Uniter, not a Divider)
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
(Being Faithful, not Fair-Weather)
“Makarios,then, describes that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and the changes of life. Human happiness is something… which life may give and which life may destroy. The Christian blessedness is completely untouchable and unassailable.”-William Barclay-Theologian
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” -King Solomon, Ecclesiastes
What is the blessedness of intentional Jesus activity transformed our existence into a life that is MEANING-FULL?