Enjoy, while this is possible ...

Wednesday, Feb 12, 2014. There are many wise statements in the different biblical books - and it is sometimes good to read them and see them all one next to the others. This gives us a balance, which single passages alone could never achieve.

Be Joyful …

I am one of those people who take things serious. That might be good if you want to achieve something. I managed to study, did a PhD and became a professor at a good university. With enought drive and some talent all this is not impossible. Other people have managed to pursue their individual career. But does it lead you to purpose and meaning? Not necessarily!

There is more in life than just work. There is more than just spending all your time on making things a success. Sometimes, we find a lot of resistance by others who do not want us to succeed or improve. Sometimes we find structures which do not want to adapt to changing times and changing environment. In the biblical book Ecclesiastes, we find well-known words of wisdom:

14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. (Ecclesiastes 8, 14-17)

Joyfull, joyfull we adore you …

Sometimes it seems that it needs clear decisions to reach this state where we can be joyful during our work and during our leisure. For me, the joy usually comes when I enjoy work, when I work hard, make things progress and see the progress. Also, I find joy when I see the content of my work, when I make programs work, when I find out how some things are connected, when research achieves new insight.

I enjoy developing things together with other people. I enjoy building networks. Listening to what others are working on, then also talking about your own ideas and bringing them into a larger picture is fantastic and encouraging. When we take each other serious, that is really great! Partnership in science can be something like that.

The wise man of Ecclesiastes tells us that basic joy is important and we should search it. In the New Testament we learn that this joy is a part of what the Holy Spirit can do in us. It is a joy which comes from the Lord. Let us search it and find it, today and tomorrow and every remaining day of our life! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts