What, Nothing?

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV

Words written centuries ago by Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, but surely it’s different these days? We have advanced in so many ways that Solomon wouldn’t recognise. Technology, medicine, science, education, air and space travel, but are these the kinds of things Solomon was talking about? Obviously not. One thing is the same, and that is human nature. We haven’t advanced any in the things that make us ‘tick’ since the days in the garden of Eden.

The heart of men and women need something that our advanced civilisation cannot provide. How do you measure love, hate, sympathy, and all the feelings that come from within? The simple answer is that you cannot figure out these emotions using advanced science. Having said the obvious, it follows that the truth and morality of the Bible still holds today, just as it did in Solomon’s time.

We look for ways to make church more attractive, so that we can bring those ‘outside the fold’ inside. Once they are inside, we must take the next step to provide the only answer to life’s ills and disappointments and it’s the Gospel. We cannot afford to get sidetracked into spending all our time in new programs, which can be a good thing, only to fail at the most important part. The possible outcome could be a busy church, full of half hearted attenders, or a half full church of sincere Christians loving and living the Gospel in open outreach. No prizes for guessing where my vote would lie. Finally, if you say you would rather have a full church of completely committed believers, I would too, but realistically we know that would not be the likely outcome. I refer you back to the verse at the top. There is nothing new under the sun that’s going to happen to change some things, no matter what we think, hope, or trust would be for the good in our human opinion. So, who do you trust more, old Solomon or the modern day Christian psychologist?