lent three

the pursuit of happiness?

‘for a community to be whole and healthy,

it must be based on people’s love and

concern for each other’ millard fuller

the pursuit of happiness?

4 Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one

to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; 3 but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. 4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.5 Fools fold their hands and consume their own flesh.6 Better is a handful with quiet than two handfuls with toil, and a chasing after wind. 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

The Value of a Friend9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. 13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king, who will no longer take advice. 14 One can indeed come out of prison to reign, even though born poor in the kingdom. 15 I saw all the living who, moving about under the sun, follow

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that youth who replaced the king; 16 there was no end to all those people whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind. Ecclesiastes 4

Work hard and you will succeed. Simple as that These days people define success as how much you earn, but I think success should be measured by whether you’re happy or not Success is having a good education, a stable job, a happy family, and achieving spiritual enlightenment It is basically a blend of financial power and respect in society Success is the achievement of set goals I always liked the old tramping motto: ‘We’re only as fast as our slowest walker,’ which I take to mean that true success happens when everyone wins.

join the conversation… What is your definition of success? You might like to use the statements above to begin a discussion in your group. Do you identify with any of the statements above? Yes/No? Which one? Why/Why not? Share your thoughts with your group.

“Ambition! We must be careful what we mean by it. If it means the desire to get ahead of other people—which is what I think it does mean—then it is bad. If it means simply wanting to do a thing well, then it is good. It isn’t wrong for an actor to want to act his part as well as it can possibly be acted, but the wish to have his name in bigger type than the other actors is a bad one.”

consider… As you look to the year ahead spend time being still, delighting in the Lord’s teaching and trusting in his care. Orienting our vision towards God can help to put our ambitions in perspective. Read Psalm 1.

the conversation

the image

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Do you ever wonder what drives you to do what you do? What are the intentions behind your actions at your workplace or university? Why is success so important to you? One of the problems of our culture is the relentless pursuit of success. Our society places an enormous emphasis on setting goals and achieving success; failure is often nothing less than the best. Success, of course, can mean many things to many people. For some, it is financial prosperity. For others, it’s a well-respected job or a successful relationship. How do you measure success? What if success didn’t depend on our effort at all? What if the things we consider success weren’t necessarily what God considers success? What would you say if success was simply a willingness to do the “next right thing?” C. S. Lewis put it like this: “It is not your business to succeed, but to do right: when you have done so, the rest lies with God.” According to Lewis, the true test of any venture is not “is it successful,” that is dependent on God, but have you done what God has asked of you (Philippians 2:13). If a willingness to do the “next right thing” constitutes success from our perspective, as Lewis believed, what does God consider successful? First, success, writes David Prior, “that grows out of selfish ambition to exalt ourselves and which leads to the oppression of others is not success in God’s eyes (Philippians 1:17; James 3:14, 16).” On the other hand, “the ambition to do well those things which God has gifted us to do; and to do them to his glory is success in God’s eyes.” This is the type of success Paul speaks about in Romans 15:20, 2 Corinthians 5:9, Philippians 2:3–5, and 1 Thessalonians 4:11. Second, true success can never be a solo climb to the top; instead, true success writes Prior again, “does no harm to ourselves or to our neighbours; it brings glory to God, and it leaves us with no regrets.”

discuss… C. S. Lewis said “It is not your business to succeed, but to do right: when you have done so, the rest lies with God.” Do you agree with this statement? Why/Why not?

the path

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The author of Ecclesiastes believed that the desire to succeed was based on competitive envy (verse 4). This creates two problems. First, a competitive culture tends to create an environment of winners and losers (verse 1). Now, we might presume that the winner is always better off in this environment. But the author of Ecclesiastes is not so sure. As he sees it, both lose something in the tussle to succeed, and both end up victims of oppression and in need of someone to comfort them (verse 1). Second, there is a danger that the desire to succeed can become all consuming. In this scenario work becomes joyless; people and tasks are reduced to a set of obstacles which must be managed in order for us to reach our goals. We can end up like the man who worked tirelessly to build up enormous wealth only to find he has nobody to share it with (verse 8). The author suggests two ways we might rein in the impulse to achieve at all costs. First, contentment (tranquillity) with where we are and what we have is vital if we’re not to succumb to competitive envy (verse 6). Second, the imbalance caused by the winner/loser mentality can be countered by an emphasis on community (verses 9-12; 1 Corinthians 12:21–31). Finally, Tim Thurman offers us a timely and wonderfully tender reminder that life isn’t always about arriving. Tim writes:

“God is just as interested in the process as the result. If you are anything like me, we focus too much on getting there, rather than enjoying the journey. Enjoying the journey is such a key to our Christian lives. When we are not so focused on the goal, we are able to be more fully present in this hour, we are able to see better all that we have to be thankful for, and we eliminate so many of our anxieties. Let’s stop striving so hard toward goals, commit to living in the present, and trust that God will bring about the success he desires for us.”

discuss… Is the Christian Life a journey or a destination? For a great discussion on this topic read the post ‘Journey or Destination’ on Scot McKnight’s blog: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2012/05/31/journey-or-destination/

the word

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A PrayerIf you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do not do anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Philippians 2:1–11

the response

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