Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 (New Living Translation)

7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

I just want to pose some questions. If you’d like, feel free to answer them here through the comments. If not, at least answer them for yourself.

Who are you working for?

Who are you giving up time and energy for?

Who in your life “helps you succeed?”

Who in your life helps you up when you have fallen?

Who stands beside you when you are being attacked?

I hope these are easy questions for you to consider and to answer. Too often, I think that these questions can reveal hard realities about the relationships we have in our lives. Before Sunday, take some time to talk to God about your relationships. Do you have someone in your life who encourages you to deeds of righteousness? If not, what can you do to today to start to build that kind of relationship?

Hebrews 10:23-25 (Today’s New International Version)

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

~ Deana Kistner

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 7:02 am and is filed under Week 2: Ring of Fire. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.