It’s been a long few weeks. My mood hasn’t been the best. It’s alarming considering the fact I’ve taken all my appropriate supplements and vitamins. Yet I’m still irritated, moody, heated, etc (crazy right). I don’t feel like going to work, don’t feel like going to the gym, don’t feel like being social, don’t even feel like typing up these blogs. But still I push on. I ran into the book of Ecclesiastes this week and it’s honestly got me through a mental fog. According to tradition, they attribute the authorship to King Solomon even though there is no concrete proof it’s actually him, just implied evidence.

I’m going to go ahead and say it’s Solomon considering his circumstance as King of Israel. As the wisest man in the Kingdom of Israel, and a natural source for a lot of Israeli “Wisdom Literature“, I appreciate his boldness in all he had to say within this book considering the fact he was someone in a position of high rank and authority. You expect someone who is a King to have a different outlook on life, but Solomon does the opposite. A lot of what he says goes against not only of the culture of his time, but ours as well.

He wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:11 “Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.” Striving after the wind is an ancient middle eastern expression as if to say we are striving so hard for earthly statuses, possessions, and approval from men that could be gone in a moment. He also says there has been no profit under the sun. For me this reminded me of Christ stating “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?”.

The key word is “Profit” as in earthly dividends. It’s all hard work that will be their tomorrow and in the end considering politics and how life works in certain spaces, you may work your butt off and never gain an inch on your own. Might as well find peace in where God has you in that moment. Now I’m not saying be complacent, but recognize the secret mission of God in where you currently are and don’t try and do it on your own. The moment you take matters into your own strength, you’ll immediately start overcompensating using excess energy that could be used doing activities in peace. The reason I was so unsettled is because I’ve started to feel a certain uneasiness in life, which I’ve noted tends to happen the spring before my birthday. I’ve recognized it and now in this moment I’m settled due to the fact that I’m not going to over work or over think on things that are ultimately futile.

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9‬:‭7‬ say “Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.” God literally has approved where you are at this moment. Either it’s looking for a new job, new home, new community, or you’re at the top of the world bringing in millions in cash. Regardless of what it is, he wants you to enjoy life with a joy that doesn’t have any ties to what it is you have or don’t have. Go outta town, go to a concert, go paint balling, whatever. Now I’m not saying be carnal, compromise your witness and just start living carelessly. What I am saying though is beware of the profits under the sun when you can be a lot more at ease with a better outlook in the breeze of the shade.