They replied, "If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants." – 2 Chronicles 10:7

Today's Scripture Reading (February 10, 2026): 2 Chronicles 10

I met some new friends recently, and a relationship has started. I don't start new relationships easily. I hope this relationship and partnership will continue for a long time. But I also know that often they don't. I have been disappointed by relationships in the past, even very close ones. And at the beginning of a relationship, it is often hard to see how that relationship might end. And yet they do. If only we could see at the start of the relationship what would kill it, maybe we would change that behavior. If only …

Actually, I don't think it is really that hard. It is an attitude, and it will start with me. Oh, I would like to say it will begin with the other person, but that is not reality. The truth is that it has to start with me. I have to be the one to assess and ask, "What am I getting out of this relationship?" At least for me, that question isn't there at the beginning. At the beginning is just a desire to serve – to make the other person better. But later, I began to ask the 'me' questions. That is also the place where the relationship starts to break down. It is there that I lose focus on how I can impact the other person's life.

A genuine relationship always requires an outward focus. As Rehoboam took over the reins of power from his father, he had a chance to restore the country and serve it. But he chose to ask the other question. As a result, the nation he was to lead began a downhill slide.

It is hard, but a fulfilled life truly begins with service. The question in all of our relationships needs to be "how can I serve this person in this place?" If you will be a servant, you truly will have people gathered around you willing to serve. It was that way in the world of Rehoboam, and nothing has changed. It's up to us, but if we want to make the world a better place, we need to choose service!

Rehoboam could have made a difference. He didn't because he listened to the wrong advice and followed a desire that asked, "What is it that you are doing for me?"

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 11

By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. – 1 Kings 13:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 9, 2026): 1 Kings 13

Bethel. It is one of the names that keep coming up within the Christian Community. We have blessed our churches, campgrounds, and ministries with the name. And all for good reason. The name Bethel has a long history. The etymology of the name is "House (Beth) of God (El)." In the Hebrew Bible, we are told that Abram pitched his tent near Bethel. Later, his Grandson Jacob would have a dream of a stairway to Heaven at Bethel as he ran from his brother, Esau.

However, the esteemed image of Bethel would tarnish. Originally part of the Tribe of Ephraim, Bethel became a crucial spiritual city in the Northern Kingdom of Israel after the Kingdom split into Israel in the North and Judah in the South. King Jeroboam would make a pair of golden calves for his people to worship, so that they wouldn't have to return to Jerusalem. The King declared that these calves were the gods of Israel who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt, echoing Aaron's message after he had created a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain of God. The Israelite King placed these calves in the northern city of Dan, located within the tribal lands of Naphtali, not in the territory of the tribe of Dan, and in Bethel in the South. Bethel, a city with a rich history with the patriarchs and the worship of the God of Israel, was now made into a spiritual place devoted to the worship of false gods. And it became a key city in leading a nation away from God.

Enter this unknown Judean man. The change had just been made. One would have thought that not everyone would agree with the tactics of Jeroboam to replace Israel's God, but apparently that was not true. No one from Israel could be found to oppose the King's plan, so God sends a man from Judea to oppose Jeroboam while the King stands by the altar, preparing to make a sacrifice.

We don't know who the man was, which might be as important as the message he brings. It is a story that is repeated throughout the biblical record. We know the name of Elijah, but when he first appeared before King Ahab, he was a nobody with an important message. And the fact that he wasn't known wouldn't stop him from speaking truth to power. Here, an unknown man is sent with a message to Jeroboam. And in our world, we shouldn't wait for celebrities or spiritual leaders to speak truth to power. Sometimes, it is even more powerful and necessary for us to speak the truth, for no other reason than that God has given us a message to share with those in a position to change our world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 10

Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. – 1 Kings 12:31

Today's Scripture Reading (February 8, 2026): 1 Kings 12

The history of the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church is complicated. There is no doubt that there have been many good and God-honoring men who have been elected to the papacy. I love the story of Gregory I's election as Bishop of Rome. According to the story, Gregory never wanted to be Pope, preferring to remain a monk and lead a life of contemplation and study. When he learned he had been elected Pope, Gregory ran away and tried to hide from his brothers. He was forced back into Rome and made the "Papa" of the Catholic Church, whether he wanted the office or not. Gregory was Pope from 590 to 604 C.E.

Only three Popes have been officially honored with the title "the Great," and chronologically, Gregory is the second to bear it, appearing between Leo (I) the Great (440-461) and Nicholas (I) the Great (858-867). He may not have wanted to be Pope, but Gregory was precisely the man that the church needed as the sixth century closed and the seventh dawned.

I wish that Papal history had given us more Gregorys, but it sometimes seems that for every good Pope, there is a historically bad Pope to balance the scales. One of the bad ones was Pope Benedict IX. Benedict IX was the only Pope who assumed the office three times. He was also possibly the youngest person to be made Pope. We think Benedict was twenty years old when he became Pope, but some reports assert that he was only eleven or twelve. I have grandsons who are turning twelve in a few weeks, and while I am proud of them, I can't imagine either of them as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Benedict IX became Pope not because he had the experience and aptitude for the position, but because his father bribed the Romans to secure it for him. And Benedict IX quickly disgraced the Chair of Peter. Medieval historian, Ferdinand Gregorovius (1821-1891) argued that "It seemed as if a demon from hell, in the disguise of a priest, occupied the chair of Peter and profaned the sacred mysteries of religion by his insolent courses." To be honest, it sounds like something that a precocious twelve-year-old might do. Pope Victor III (1086-1087), in Dialogues III, says that Benedict IX demeaned the papacy by "his rapes, murders, and other unspeakable acts of violence and sodomy. His life as a pope was so vile, so foul, so execrable, that I shudder to think of it."

Jeroboam built shrines in the northern Kingdom and encouraged his people to worship them as gods. But he supported the practice by ordaining men who were unqualified for the priesthood. These were men who wanted to advance themselves, and to do that, they were willing to pervert the priesthood dedicated to the God who had brought Israel out of Egypt, and to focus the worship of the God of Israel on a pair of golden calves that had been placed in the north and the south of the nation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 13 

Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain. – Ecclesiastes 12:2

Today's Scripture Reading (February 7, 2026): Ecclesiastes 12

Ronald Reagan, as President, defended his advancing age by quoting Thomas Jefferson. "Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." I hesitate to try to explain someone else's joke, but in case you missed it, Reagan was making an age joke. It is something Ronald Reagan had a particular talent for. He could often make a joke about himself and, in the process, disarm a criticism aimed at him. In this case, his critics were bothered by the President's age. Maybe we have gotten used to older Presidents, but during Reagan's term, there were many comments about his age and fitness for office. Reagan's response is summed up in the Jefferson quote. First, judge me by what I do, not by some arbitrary number on my driver's license. Reagan's sense of humor is evident in the second part of the quote; there, he admits he is old. In fact, he exaggerates it. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, almost a century before Reagan was born. So, if Jefferson and Reagan had a conversation, Reagan was a lot older than we thought.

It is the one reality we all have to face. That number that climbs at a predictable pace every moment of every year. There was a time when we wanted to look older; we took pride in passing for someone older than we were. But that moment quickly passes, and we dream, and buy creams and hair dyes, to make us look younger than we are. I recently watched a news opinion show and noticed that a network executive who had started joining the onscreen panel about a year ago had dyed his hair. It was like the salt-and-pepper hair had been appropriate when he was an off-screen personality, but if he was going to be on TV regularly, maybe his look needed updating. And don't ever ask someone to guess how old you are, because if the person is honest, we might get the shock of our lives. (Personally, I have decided that no one looks older than forty.)

The Preacher appears to use poetic language in this portion of his sermon. "Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return" is his way of saying before we suffer from the effects of advancing age. Because we all will suffer from age-related ailments, the body will grow weak (the keepers of the house tremble), our legs and knees will begin to hurt and fail (the strong men stoop), and even our teeth will start to leave us (the grinders cease because they are few). We will grow old, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. But we still need to make the most of every moment we are given, until that moment when God brings us home.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 12

Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. – Ecclesiastes 11:7

Today's Scripture Reading (February 6, 2026): Ecclesiastes 11

Where I live, the days are getting noticeably longer. At their shortest, just a few days before Christmas, the sun was in the sky for less than 7.5 hours, meaning darkness ruled for over 16 hours. Of course, the flipside is true in late June. I don't know where we were, but I remember being on a campout in late June as a kid and staying up late around a fire, telling stories. That night/morning, we watched as the sun's glow died in the west, and by the time it was gone entirely, it was rising again in the east. It was dark, but the glow on the horizon that night was a constant.

The lack of light in December and January can have a dramatic difference on our moods. At the severe end of that spectrum are people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The lack of light in places like where I live can cause severe depression, fatigue, and irritability in some people. And maybe that explains part of my adverse reaction to Christmas and New Year's, a reaction that extends to even the music of the season. I admit that I often try to find radio stations that refuse to play Christmas Carols during December.

Reading Ecclesiastes at this time of year probably should be avoided. The Preacher's writing is not encouraging. But the Preacher admits that light is sweet, and we like to see the sun. That was probably even more true for the Preacher and the people who first read his sermon than for us. After all, we have so many ways of adding artificial light to chase away the darkness. But the Preacher also wants to remind us that even when the sun shines, times of darkness are always coming. As I write these words, the sun is shining, and there is ample blue in the sky above. But it will only be another five or six hours before the darkness dominates my city once again. And while the days are getting longer, they will begin to get shorter as the days of summer begin. So even the sun's presence, according to the Preacher, is meaningless.

So, enjoy the sun while you can, but if you want to add meaning to your life, even the sun can't do that. Light might be sweet, and Seasonal Affective Disorder might seem scary, but we need more than the sun to give our lives meaning.  

As a Christian, I would say we need the Son, not the sun. A change in our moods comes only from Jesus.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 12

Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones. – Ecclesiastes 10:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 5, 2026): Ecclesiastes 10

In 1969, Dr. Laurence J. Peter, with the help of Raymond Hull, wrote a book titled “The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong.” Dr. Peter’s theory is that in a hierarchical environment, executives tend to be promoted to the level of their incompetence. Basically, promotions are given based on current job performance, not on their aptitude for the next level. If you excel at your current job, you can be promoted. And you will continue to be promoted until you are no longer competent at what you do. There you will stay. The result is the mass incompetence of executives who have been promoted beyond the point at which they can excel. The direct result of the “Peter Principle” is that people at the highest level tend to be incompetent; they have been promoted away from the jobs at which they once excelled.

The secret is actually twofold. First, employers need to be more aware of the traits required for the next level of the job, and promote people with the aptitude for that role, rather than promoting simply because the person excels at the job they are currently doing. It is a little more work, and sometimes might even seem unfair. Still, it would keep people at the top of the hierarchical ladder who can excel in that job, rather than depending on their excellence in another, lower position.

The second part of the solution is aimed at the employee. Employees need to consider whether they really can excel at the next step on the ladder. If you don’t have the required ability, then stay where you are. Of course, the real problem is that we often chase more money, security, prestige, and power that only exist at higher levels of the ladder. That means we have to risk climbing another rung to achieve those benefits, even if we know we will not excel at that job.

The Preacher tries to describe Dr. Laurence Peter’s principle. He recognizes that fools are often placed in positions of power and prestige, while the rich, maybe better described as the capable, are stranded on lower rungs. A result of the “Peter Principle” is that executive positions often become clogged with incompetent people, leaving more capable people stranded in lower positions. These executives can neither be promoted nor evidently fired, so they remain in that position, and movement up the hierarchical ladder stagnates. And maybe, there really is no solution to that problem.

(Just a note, if my bosses are reading this, don’t worry, you are doing an excellent job. And I am quite happy occupying the place on the ladder precisely where I am.)

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 11

Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. – Ecclesiastes 9:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 4, 2026): Ecclesiastes 9

The prophet Isaiah received a vision. The vision seemed to pertain to the demise of the city of Jerusalem. The vision was filled with futility. There was no doubt in the vision that the city would die. At the time of the vision, the people were filled with fear. The Assyrians had been on the march for a while, and it was evident that the next nations on their agenda were Israel and Judah. And so, the people waited, filled with dread.

The text tells us that this is “A prophecy against the Valley of Vision” (Isaiah 22:1). The term “Valley of Vision” simply refers to the idea that while Jerusalem is built on a hill, it is surrounded by an even higher hill, and sits in the midst of three valleys. Jerusalem exists at the center of this hill/valley complex. And it is in this prophecy that the prophet writes,

The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day
to weep and to wail,
    to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
But see, there is joy and revelry,
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!
“Let us eat and drink,” you say

    “for tomorrow we die” (Isaiah 22:13-14)!

We shouldn’t miss the point Isaiah is trying to make. Jerusalem, you know trouble is coming, you can see it with your eyes and hear it with your ears. But instead of getting ready, instead of getting right with God, you throw a party because tomorrow you might die.

Paul, in the closing of 1 Corinthians, picks up the same thought.

I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,
               for tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:31-32).

If there is no resurrection, then maybe the best thing that we can do is throw a party because there is no hope, not even for us today. Our newscasts are filled with a lack of hope, of innocent people being beaten and killed; it is happening in Ukraine, Iran, and the United States, among several other hotspots. And if God is not powerful enough to help us, then why not kill the fatted calf and throw a party?

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes is arguing the same point. In a world “under the sun,” where what we see daily is all that we get, then be comfortable. Wearing white is comfortable under the hot sun, and oil has a cooling effect and helps protect the skin. If this is all that there is, then why would you do anything else? Do what is necessary and forget about going the extra mile. Eat, drink, and be merry in your white ensemble, because in the end, that is all you have.

In a world under the sun, the advice works. In a city that is about to fall to the Assyrians, that works. But maybe Jerusalem is our cautionary tale. While the people of Jerusalem, at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy, felt that the attack of the Assyrians was imminent, that attack didn’t come for almost a quarter of a century. Samaria and Israel fell four short years after Isaiah’s prophecy, but the attack on Jerusalem wouldn’t come for another twenty-four years. And even when it did come, it would fail.

So maybe there is a reason to go beyond what is easy and pleasurable. Because God is still with us, and there is more than what is seen “under the sun.”

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 10

Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance. – Ecclesiastes 8:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 3, 2026): Ecclesiastes 8

Mark Twain argued that “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” The novelist/humorist might have been one of the wisest men who lived because so much that he wrote about should be published under the heading of “Wisdom for Life.”

Consider this Twain quote: “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” I couldn’t agree more, though following that newfound purpose is not always easy. But if we know why we are here, then we can set forth a plan to follow that purpose.

Let me give you one more Twain quote: “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” I live in a world that needs all of the kindness we can get. And it is not just the deaf and the blind, but all of us who need more kindness in our lives. However, I strongly believe in something else that Twain doesn’t say. If you want to receive kindness, then give kindness. So many of us sow bitterness, hoping to receive kindness. Life doesn’t seem to work that way. We need to “be the change we want to see in the world,” which is not a Twain quote, but is most often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, although we really don’t know where the quote originated. But our ignorance doesn’t erase the truth. We need to exhibit to the world the very things we want to see in it. If you want to receive kindness, be kind. If you want to receive love, give love. If you want others to forgive you, forgive them.

The Preacher makes an amazing comment as he continues his writing of Ecclesiastes. He is looking for a wise person who understands how things work. However, he also says that a wise person is also a happy person. Wisdom has the ability to “brighten our faces” and “change the hard appearances” that our faces often reflect. Why? Maybe because we have no lies to remember, we know why we are here and have a plan for our future, and we are receiving the kindness, love, and forgiveness that we are giving to others. Oh, and by the way, in the process of getting to this place in our lives, we will have stopped competing with each other because I can’t truly be kind and want the best for you if I am still focused on myself. All of these things should make us happier, brightening our faces and changing our stern appearance.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 9

Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. – Ecclesiastes 7:6

Today's Scripture Reading (February 2, 2026): Ecclesiastes 7

There is an old camp song we used to sing around the fire when I was a teenager. Perhaps you recognize the lyrics (I will let you sing the song to yourself).

            It only takes a spark

            To get a fire going

            And soon all those around

            Can warm up to its glowing.

Is it allowable for me to say that this old Christian Camp song has lied to us? As a veteran of many campfires, I can tell you that a spark is not all you need to get that campfire going. Sometimes, I have to admit that I think it is remarkable that fires are set at all. Maybe that is just proof that I would make a lousy pyromaniac.

If you want to get that campfire going, you start with a framework for the fire. Usually, that would include some logs placed so air can flow freely through the fire. Next, you need some starter material or things that will catch fire easily. The problem with this material is that it burns out quickly, so the idea is that it will catch fire and allow the fire to spread to the logs that will form a more lasting part of the fire. Once all of that has been assembled, then you need the aforementioned spark. You could also use an accelerant like gasoline, but then the fire might quickly get out of control.

The preacher uses a bit of wordplay here. James Moffat, in his translation of the Bible, gets at the wordplay with his phrasing of "Like nettles crackling under the kettles" to replace "Like the crackling of thorns under the pot." The problem with nettles or thorns is that while they burn easily, they also burn quickly. If all you have are thorns, the fire will disappear as fast as the spark allows it to burn.

In the same way, the laughter of fools is without substance. It is a momentary flash that disappears almost as quickly as it appeared. The laughter of fools is misplaced and transitory. It is nothing more than a noise that grabs the person's attention before we realize the substance is missing.

And maybe nothing could be more meaningless than that kind of laughter.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 8

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind. – Ecclesiastes 6:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 1, 2026): Ecclesiastes 6

As I write this post, transgender issues seem to be the news of the day. The Supreme Court is trying to decide on the role of transgender individuals in women's sports. And let me admit that I am not an expert on transgender issues, and I have a lot of questions. But I will admit that part of my issue when it comes to women's sports has more to do with strength issues between the sexes. What I need to know, and maybe someone can inform me, is whether a transgender female retains some of the strength of the male they once were. If they do, then it does seem unfair to allow them to participate in women's sports.

Admittedly, young females are sometimes stronger than their male counterparts. I know an eleven-year-old girl who enjoys beating all (well, most) of the boys in feats of strength. But her dominance over the boys will end. Men simply tend to be taller and stronger than their female counterparts. And if those characteristics remain true with transgender females, then maybe there is a reason to keep them out of women's sports. But I admit that I don't know the answer to that question.

Maybe I need to address this more concretely. Caitlyn Jenner was an Olympic athlete. She was a phenomenal athlete, but of course, the provision here is that when Caitlyn competed in the Olympics, she was named Bruce and competed against the men, not the women. Would it have been fair for Bruce to have become Caitlyn in his teens and have competed against women? Would the gender change have affected Bruce/Caitlyn's performance in the Olympics? Would it be okay for Bruce Jenner to have competed in the Women's Decathlon rather than the men's? And again, I only have questions, not answers.

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes goes back to his theme of "under the sun." The phrase has nothing to do with what happens on a sunny day, but is the author's way of talking about what happens in this material world. When the Preacher speaks about the events "under the sun," he is speaking about our existence, ignoring all that is eternal. He is also speaking of the unequal existence that we all experience, regardless of the color of our skin or the form of our religious beliefs.

Life under the sun is difficult. And it is rarely fair. Which is why we all have to work to make it more fair, show compassion for others, and respond with forgiveness and grace. Because, regardless of any of the ways that we like to divide ourselves into them and us, we all suffer from life "under the sun."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 7

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. – Ecclesiastes 5:10

Today's Scripture Reading (January 31, 2026): Ecclesiastes 5

We love money. I think we know that we are not supposed to, but we do anyway. We know that the love of money is wrong, but that Knowledge probably only leads us to try to make excuses for our passion. Excuses like, "I don't love money; I just wish I could give more to the church." From my experience, if you don't tithe when you are poor, a change in financial situation probably won't help. Or maybe it is "I don't love money; I just want to be able to volunteer more time to things that are important, or be able to spend more time with my family." Unfortunately, that too can be little more than a smoke screen, and an excuse that makes our love for money a little more palatable.

Our shared reality is that few of us will ever be rich enough. There will always be more we want that is just beyond our financial reach. And so, we drive to make just a little more.

Having said that, there are things that we need our finances to do. We need to save for our retirement. We are living longer, but unfortunately, our health often doesn't keep pace with our increasing lifespan. I have known many people who had decided they just weren't going to retire, only to find out that not retiring wasn't a choice they could make. Their health declined until they were forced into retirement. One friend, who had worked in manual labor jobs all of his life, was let go from his job as he entered his sixties because his employers found that he couldn't keep up with the younger workers. We pretend that we can do everything in our sixties that we did in our forties, but I think we know that is just not true.

But it is Ecclesiastes that lays out our real problem. If we love money, then we will never have enough. I have told the story of a friend who demonstrated this principle. When I met him, he and his wife made about $40,000 a year, but it wasn't quite enough. He used to promise me that if God gave him just a little more, then he would be able to tithe and still pay his bills. God delivered the needed miracle. Just a few years after our first money conversation, we had another. By this time, household income had more than doubled, but not the conversation. If God would give him just a little more, his books would balance, he would be able to begin the process of getting out of debt, and, of course, since he was talking to me, he would tithe to the church. God delivered again a few years later. Now with a household income in the six-figure range, he still needed just a little more.

Today, the family income for this family has dropped severely because of health issues. But the saddest part of the story is that my friend never found a place of contentment with what he had. He never had enough. Instead, he became an illustration of what the Preacher had written almost 3000 years ago. "Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 6

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 30, 2026): Ecclesiastes 4

I am old enough to remember Bobby Orr making end-to-end rushes in the sport of hockey. Orr changed the way defensemen played the game. He set the stage for some of the defensemen who would follow him and become offensive powerhouses. However, Orr could pick up the puck and rush into the opponent’s zone only because he understood that someone, one of the forwards, would drop back to cover his defensive responsibilities. Today, that idea has become more dominant in contemporary hockey. Hockey is a sport that depends on the concept of a team. You might have a superstar playing for you, but one talented person will never win a championship. Winning championships depends on putting together a team of players who are willing to play together.

Ecclesiastes was written about the middle of the 10th Century B.C.E. Three centuries later, the fabulist Aesop put his spin on the concept.

Aesop tells the story of “Four Oxen and a Lion.” Once upon a time, four oxen shared a field. There was also a lion in the vicinity, but he was never able to defeat the four oxen. The problem was that every time the lion came near, the oxen pressed their tails together, showing only their sharp horns to their enemy. It didn’t matter which direction the lion chose for his attack; it was always the horns of the oxen that greeted him. The task of getting to the four oxen was hopeless, and so, eventually, the lion gave up.

Without the pursuit of the lion, the attention of the oxen drifted off to other things. They began to criticize each other and complained about almost every aspect of their life together until, one day, they decided they had had enough. There were lots of pastures available in the area; they didn’t have to share the same one. And so, the four oxen decided to separate, each one finding a place where they could all live on their own without the annoyances of the other.

Up in the hills, the lion caught wind of the new arrangements and decided to wander down into the pasture to see for himself what was happening. Sure enough, the four oxen had split and, now, each one ruled over its own little pasture, which meant that the lion was now free to attack them one by one. The lion attacked, and soon it was only the lion that was left standing. The four oxen, once invincible, had been defeated by their own bickering.

It is funny how often the end appears because of our disagreements. Just before Aesop stepped onto the stage, the end of the Assyrian Empire began with a civil war that followed the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 B.C.E. Suddenly, the great war machine that had terrorized the nations was turned on itself, as one faction sought to lead the empire against the desires of another. The war was brutal, and one by one, those areas that had been defeated by the Assyrians once again began to assert their independence. And without a united front, the Assyrian Empire didn’t have the power to do anything about it.

Assyria fought back, but after a few initial wins, all of those who had been on the receiving end of Assyria’s military might unified for one final push to the capital city, Nineveh. The capital city fell in 609 B.C.E., and the Assyrian Empire disappeared into the pages of history.

In a strange twist of fate, Nabonidus seized power in the Babylonian Empire in 556 B.C.E. Nabonidus was an Assyrian from Harran. But Nabonidus, who would be the last king of the Babylonian Empire, made no effort to rebuild the Assyrian Empire. There really wasn’t a point. Less than 100 years after the demise of the Assyrian Empire, there was nothing left of Nineveh but ruins, and precious few Assyrians even lived anywhere near the remains of the former capital city.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 5

A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. – Ecclesiastes 3:8

Today's Scripture Reading (January 29, 2026): Ecclesiastes 3

If you are on social media, you have probably played the game. You know the one; you are shown a page of letters, and the first three words that you see in this mass of letters are your reality, or maybe your future, things that will dominate your life in 2026. By the way, I took this test, and my first three words were Power, Creation, and Breakthrough. A close fourth was Family. But the problem with the test is that it is skewed. Look as hard as you want, you won't find Bankruptcy, Destitution, or Divorce. The word on the screen only contains good things. It is the same with those tests that claim to predict the future based on your name. I have seen your responses to these exercises, and the results are always good. This year, you will finally get a brand-new house or a new fortune. I have never seen you post that, based on your name, you are destined for sickness, death, or even broken relationships this year. The tests are fixed. And by the way, some of you took the same test at the end of 2019, and none of you revealed that what was in your future for 2020 was a pandemic.

But in Ecclesiastes 3, we find a mirror, because it is all there: Birth, Death, Planting, Harvesting, Killing, Healing, tear down, build up, weep, dance, scatter stones, gather stones, embracing, refrain from embracing, search, stop searching, keep, discard, tear, mend, silence, speaking, love, hate, war, and peace. Whatever you feel, it is there.

On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded the independent State of Kuwait. I have to admit that at the time I didn't know where Kuwait was, but I do now. But Iraq's action set up a moral crisis inside of me. I may not have known where Kuwait was, but Iraq, at the time, had one of the top militaries among nations not named the United States, Russia, or China. They may not have been the strongest nation in the world, but they were the strongest among the non-superpower nations. Kuwait was not. The Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq became the grounds for the invasion of Iraq by the United States. One of the things that I remember, and that left its mark on me, was a conversation that I had with a young friend. I know, back then I was young, but he was younger. He opposed the United States' action. I did not. I wasn't in favor. I have admitted that I am a reluctant pacifist, but the question that bothered me was "do we not have some responsibility to stand up for those who are the weak, the ones that Jesus called the least of these. Did Kuwait deserve to be demolished because it was weak but rich?

I must admit, I have a bias. You see, I am a Canadian. I belong to a prosperous nation that is militarily somewhere in the middle - upper middle of military nations. But this I know: we are no match for our neighbors to the south, the United States, which still seems intent on taking us over. If President Trump decided today that he was going to make us the fifty-first state, there is very little that we could do to resist him. I hope that as the United States attacked, the world would come to our defense, but I don't know of any nation that wants to get into a fight with Donald Trump's country.

The thought that kept going through my mind in 1990 was, "Does not Kuwait deserve some sort of defense?" To say no almost seemed an act of cowardice. I want peace, but sometimes I wonder whether we need to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. And at that moment, I wondered about Solomon's words that there was "a time for war and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 8:8b).

Let me be clear, I want peace. Pete Seeger's song "Turn, Turn, Turn" depends on Ecclesiastes 3 for its lyrics. But in the closing words of the song, Seeger adds, "A time for peace, I swear it's not too late." Me too. Maybe I would change one word. "A time for peace, I pray it's not too late."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 4

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 2:11

Today's Scripture Reading (January 28, 2026): Ecclesiastes 2

I love the history of bands. And so, I watch and consume what is available. One of the bands I have studied in recent history is "The Eagles." And one of the great stories from the band is the fight between Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner over the song "Take It to the Limit." The song was primarily written by Meisner. The Eagles' bass guitarist also sang the song. "Take It to the Limit" was the first million-selling song in the Eagles' history. And often, the band held the song back for a possible encore. The problem was that, because of the song's demanding musical range, he was the only member of the band who could sing it; Meisner was also very shy and hated the spotlight. He was not confident that he could consistently reach the high notes at the end of the song. As a result, sometimes, at the end of the concert, with the crowd going wild, there was a fight taking place backstage about whether Meisner was willing to sing the hit song. "Take It to the Limit" became one of the key factors that would eventually break up the band.

Another storyline from the band involved the Eagles replacing guitarist Don Felder with Joe Walsh. The reality was that the trade would cost them vocally. There is no doubt that, from a musical basis, Felder's voice is more melodic than Walsh's. However, the gain would be in guitar playing. If you have listened to the musical interlude in Hotel California, that interlude of dueling guitars was written by Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey, each trying to one-up the other. Another gain the band would realize in Walsh would be in the intangible "Rock Cred." Joe Walsh led a "Rock and Roll" lifestyle. Joe Walsh's song "Life's Been Good" is autobiographical, and it tells a rock-and-roll story. Walsh wrote both the music and lyrics of the song.

I have a mansion but forget the price.
Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice.
I live in hotels, tear out the walls.
I have accountants, pay for it all.

 

They say I'm crazy but I have a good time.
I'm just looking for clues at the scene of the crime.
Life's been good to me so far.

 

My Maserati does one-eighty-five
I lost my license, now I don't drive.
I have a limo, ride in the back.
I lock the doors in case I'm attacked.

 

I'm making records, my fans they can't wait.
They write me letters, tell me I'm great.
So I got me an office, gold records on the wall.
Just leave a message, maybe I'll call.

 

Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through
I can't complain but sometimes I still do
Life's been good to me so far.

 

I go to parties sometimes until four.
It's hard to leave when you can't find the door.
It's tough to handle this fortune and fame.
Everybody's so different, I haven't changed.

 

They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time.
I keep on goin' guess I'll never know why
Life's been good to me so far.

Joe Walsh's song is autobiographical, but it is also the song of a modern-day Solomon. I selfishly denied myself of nothing. But part two of the story is essential as well. Walsh was one of the original Bad Boys of rock and roll. He admits trashing hotel rooms for no other reason than boredom. At the same time, an older Joe Walsh acknowledges that part of the problem is that he never felt he truly belonged. His own self-confidence was low, and with everything he had consuming everything he wanted, nothing satisfied him.

Both Solomon and Joe Walsh present similar accounts. I denied myself nothing, and yet none of it satisfied: it was all meaningless.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3

Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. – Ecclesiastes 1:10

Today's Scripture Reading (January 27, 2026): Ecclesiastes 1

Life seems to travel in circles. In the 1970s, I wore bell-bottom jeans. It was the 70s, and that is the only excuse that I have for my fashion decision. I was also a junior high school student who stood over six feet tall and wore platform shoes. And the idea was that if my bell-bottoms were right, they would totally cover the tops of my boots. The style was made popular by Sonny and Cher early in the decade. But by the end of the decade, the practice had already faded, never to be seen again.

Well, maybe not. Bell-bottoms, under various names, made a comeback in the 1980s and 1990s, though they were designed primarily for women. And then, in 2006, they totally disappeared. Sharon Haver, of FocusOnStyle.com. said "It's as if all the girls wearing premium boot-cut jeans threw them away one day, and the next day began wearing skinny jeans and flats."

So, the life of bell-bottom pants lasted from the early 1970s with Sonny and Cher until 2006. Except that there are pictures of sailors wearing what looks suspiciously like bell-bottom pants in 1854. There is nothing new—everything cycles.

I also used to wear a mullet, a hairstyle described as "business in the front and party at the back." The name "Mullet" goes back to 1992 and the Beastie Boys. In 1994, the Beastie Boys released their song "Mullet Head." The style dates back to Keifer Sutherland in the movie "The Lost Boys" (1987), and, according to Keifer, his hairstyle in the film was inspired by Billy Idol. So, finally, we had something new to celebrate. Except that in 2018, construction workers in England discovered a metal figurine dating back to the time of Christ, depicting a man wearing something that looked an awful lot like a mullet. And one researcher commented that the hairstyle probably made a lot of sense in antiquity. It kept the hair out of the eyes while providing warmth and protection for the neck.

So, the Preacher argues that there is nothing new. Nothing. It has all been done before—everything cycles. What has been written has been written before and will be written again. There is nothing new under the sun.

Back in the early seventies, a new band arrived on the scene. They were actually a Canadian band, but what gave them their moment of fame was a rumor. Their first album sounded surprisingly like another band that had recently broken up: The Beatles. Furthering the mystery, the album provided no information about the band's members. The group was called Klaatu, and all the songs were written by the anonymous "Klaatoons." The band's name was taken from the science fiction movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." And so, the rumor exploded; Klaatu was the Beatles reorganized under a different name.

But in 1978, they wrote a song that fits well with the Preacher's words about a world where nothing is new. The song was entitled "Routine Day."

So tell me what's the bloody point of playing the game?
With so much to lose yet so little to gain
You sell your life away.
Can't you see you're just a cog working like a dog

You trade your future for a dead-end job

That's full of routine days (John Woloschuk – Routine Day).

It is the cycle that keeps repeating itself. Nothing is new, and today will return in the disguise of tomorrow. Nothing has changed since the time of Solomon. But that doesn't make Ecclesiastes dangerous. It makes it real. It was like this in Solomon's time, and it is still like that. And we have to somehow come to grips with that reality, and find a way to move through this repetitive reality

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 2

As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. – 1 Kings 11:14

Today's Scripture Reading (January 26, 2026): 1 Kings 11

A long time ago, there was a television series called "The Love Boat." "The Love Boat" had a devoted audience, but it didn't garner much love from critics. Every week, the story about this cruise ship featured three love stories. One of those love stories featured an elderly couple with a secret. He had just retired from his work; she had scrimped and saved so that she could give him the cruise as a reward for his retirement. Except that she had another secret. She had been in control of the money throughout their marriage, and they had lived a life we might call "working poor." He didn't care. All that mattered was that his wife had remained by his side.

The wife, who controlled the money, had apparently attended Dave Ramsey's Financial University. (Okay, at the time of The Love Boat, Ramsey was probably still in grade school, but she had learned money management from somebody.) She had saved money throughout their marriage and invested it in the Stock Market. Her dirty little secret was that as they embarked on their retirement, they were multi-millionaires. However, her husband wasn't sure this was good news. He had brought brown-bag lunches to work every day for years; they had scrimped, the couple rarely ate out, and now he finds out he didn't need to do any of it. His wife had probably made more money on the Stock Market over the last forty years than he had earned at his job. Yes, out of that saving had come this cruise, but there was so much more.

As the husband reviews the list of stocks his wife had invested in, he asks this important question. How did she choose the stocks? She answered that whenever he called her by a nickname, she would go out and buy a stock that began with the same letter. He started cycling through the names. When he called her Dear, she bought DuPont. When he called her Honey, she bought Hewlett-Packard. And then he noticed that at the bottom of the list was another stock name – Xerox. And he looks at his wife and asks, "What did I call you to prompt you to go by Xerox?" She smiled and noted that it had been one of her best investments, bought the day her husband was angry with her and called her a Jezebel; she couldn't spell Jezebel, so it accidentally became Xerox.

The historical Jezebel ruled Israel as the Queen Consort of King Ahab. But as you read through the account of the reign of Ahab, there is little doubt who the monarch really was. Ahab was a figurehead under his wife's rule. Jezebel was a princess, the daughter of the King of Sidon. And she brought with her the gods she had worshipped in her Father's house: Ba'al and Asherah. And she demanded that the nation worship with her.

Her nemesis was the prophet Elijah, who continually sought to draw the nation back to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he couldn't. One of my favorite stories in the Hebrew Bible is the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Ba'al and Asherah. Elijah wins, and the story ends with Ahab and Elijah racing off Mount Carmel before the long-awaited rains come sweeping over Israel. It was a moment of victory for the God of Israel. But as Ahab arrives home to tell Jezebel what has happened, her reaction is not to worship Yahweh or Adonai, but rather to demand that Ahab place a price on the head of Elijah.

And Elijah falls into a deep depression that doesn't end until he has his own meeting with Adonai on another mountain. There he hears God whether Solomon ever met a woman he did not want to sleep with in the gentle whisper, "Eijah, what are you doing here?"

Marriages have to work in the same direction. Usually, they work best if both partners understand the direction before entering into the relationship. This is actually true of all relationships. Can we test each other and strengthen each other, yes, but ultimately, the relationship must be moving toward the same place. I have often wondered what would have happened if Ahab had not married Jezebel. However, Ahab was so weak that he naturally allowed his foreign wife to lead, regardless of who that wife might have been.

Solomon wasn't weak, but his priority was to amass the power and financial gain that God had promised. Sometimes I wonder whether Solomon ever met a woman he did not want to sleep with. Although never officially mentioned among Solomon's 1000 women, the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon because of his wisdom. And rumor has it she left pregnant with Solomon's child. That child became Menelik I, founding the Solomonic Dynasty in Ethiopia. The last descendant of Solomon to rule in Ethiopia was Haile Selassie, who was deposed in 1974. The Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia may reflect King Solomon's lack of wisdom and insatiable need for power, which led him to be more concerned with keeping his foreign wives happy than with keeping the God who had placed him on the throne of Israel happy.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 1

 

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. – 2 Chronicles 9:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 25, 2026): 2 Chronicles 9

Alexander the Great changed the way we wage war. He conquered the known world, but his genius lay in what happened after he had finished conquering. Alexander was a genius in the area of cultural diffusion. After he had conquered an area, he made it culturally Greek. And he was so good at that task that for generations, the places that he had conquered hundreds of years earlier, places that were now subject to a new Roman Empire, continued to be culturally Greek. The Christian, or New Testament, was written in Greek because of Alexander the Great’s ability to spread Greek culture.

Alexander the Great was a student of Aristotle. Often Aristotle is referred to simply as “The Philosopher.” Aristotle, alongside his teacher Plato and the philosopher Sophocles, has revolutionized the way we think. They are the founders of Western Philosophy and have impacted all Western Religions.

Later, during the early years of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus would build on the ideas of Alexander the Great and Aristotle, developing a system for governing a vast empire. The Roman Empire of Augustus changed our expectations about this world once more. There is a thought that while the Holy Roman Empire lasted for centuries, if those kings that followed in the footsteps of Augustus had only ruled in the way that he ruled, and if many of the kings of Rome had not been insane, then maybe the Roman Empire would have been a force for generations longer, and might even still be a force today.

The Queen of Sheba comes to Solomon. The reality is that, from our historical perspective, we do not know much about either of these people. We know that Solomon was the son of David, and that he was reputed to be wise, and that he had many wives and concubines. But of the private Solomon, we know almost nothing. About the Queen of Sheba, we know even less. We do not even know from where she originated. Today, we debate whether she called Ethiopia or Arabia home. But we do know that she came to Solomon, drawn by the stories that she had heard about him. In Solomon, she found a man who seemed to be part Alexander, who would change the world culture around him; part Aristotle, who would change the way people thought; and part Augustus, who would change the way an Empire could be ruled.

However, the test the Queen of Sheba brought to Solomon was actually a spiritual one. The test explored whether this king only possessed the knowledge of the time or whether he also possessed the wisdom to use that knowledge correctly. The idea behind the test was that anyone could pursue knowledge and gain significant amounts of information, but true wisdom meant being able to use that knowledge in a way that could only come from God. We do not know the questions that Sheba asked Solomon, but historical gossip has left us with three possibilities. One possible problem was that Solomon was presented with real and fake flowers and that he was asked to discern between the two by sight alone. Another was that he was presented with a group of boys and girls, dressed alike, and the King was asked to discern between them, and the last was that he was asked to gather a cup of water that came neither from the clouds nor from the earth. Solomon’s rumored responses to these problems were to unleash some bees and see which flowers they went to, to watch the children as they washed their hands to see which were boys and which were girls, and to run a horse hard, almost to the dropping point, and collect the sweat of the horse in a cup. These may not have been the actual questions, but whatever the real questions were, Solomon convinced this mysterious Queen of Sheba that he was wise and that this wisdom was a gift that only God could give to a king.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 11