Life is Not Perfect - Accept It

“That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.” (Ec 1:15 AV)

 

Our writer, after divine wisdom was granted and years of observation, came to the conclusion that when all is said and done, nothing in this life can be truly and perfectly fixed.  Nor will there ever be a time when something doesn’t need to be done or a need to be met.  To desire a perfect life with all anxiety fled away because there are no needs and no faults is naïve.

Yesterday, we had a workday around our church.  We knocked off a few items of utmost importance.  Fixing our handicap ramp, changing our sanctuary lighting, organizing our kitchen, and a bunch of little things as well.  We are also planning on painting the outside of our church and parsonage.  It was truly interesting hearing the ideas and dreams of others concerning more improvement projects.  There is fixing the front entrance.  There is fixing an exterior wall.  We have to fix the entrances to the restrooms.  The office has to be reorganized.  A pastor’s office needs to be built.  Air conditioning needs to be installed.  Heat registers need to be replaced.  Then we started discussing remodeling.  That is when the dollar signs began to climb higher.  There was a total renovation of the downstairs with a new kitchen, bathrooms, and classroom space.  Upstairs was also a dream.  An upstairs bathroom, new handicap entrance, carpet, chairs, and repaint.  The more we talked, the more ideas flowed.  The thing is, no matter what you do, it only takes a few years before more maintenance is on the calendar.  Owning a building is a never-ending part-time job.  There is mowing the lawn.  There are flowers to plant and gardens to weed.  There are windows to clean, floors to mop, and faucets needing repair.  It never stops.  There is always something to do and there is never a point in life when our to-do list is empty.

Solomon’s point is well taken.  We live with the idea that life can be perfect.  We live with the idea that one morning, we will wake up and the cupboard will be well-stocked with a lifetime’s worth of victuals.  We think all we have to do is take a magic pill and we will forever be in perfect health.  We live in a Star Trek generation that thinks all one needs is a replicator and a ship.  Nothing but fun and exploration with no real needs to consider.  If you are sick or injured, all one needs to do is go to sickbay, have the doctor wave a magic wand, and you are completely whole.  How absolutely foolish.  We live in a fallen world and because of our sin, there will never be perfect.  Because we live in a fallen world, there will always be something that needs mending.  We threw away perfection in the garden of Eden. Since then, everything has been crooked.  There is nothing made straight.  Since then, we have to till the ground by the sweat of our brow.  We threw it all away and not we have to live in the reality that life will never be perfect on this side of glory.  The sooner we internalize and accept this truth, the quicker we become content with life as it is.