Category: Culture (Page 3 of 9)

The haunting version of Turn! Turn! Turn! by the Byrds never ceases to fascinate me. Whenever it comes on the radio I turn it up. Pete Seeger, the songwriter, pulled the lyrics directly from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, using the King James Version:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain that which is to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time of love, and a time of hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

(One fascinating piece of trivia. Solomon wrote these lines in roughly the 10th century BC, and the Byrds version of the song topped the charts in 1965—giving it the prize for being the number one song with the oldest lyrics).

The words resonate after 3,000 years. Why? Perhaps the answer is found a couple of verses later—He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart (3:11).

The Lord placed a sense of the eternal in our hearts, building meaning into our lives. Randomness fails to explain all we experience. The Lord created us for a purpose and somehow, deep down, we know. We move toward a final destination.

So enjoy the music, and rest in the truth that a time to every purpose under heaven indeed exists, thanks to the good hand of the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 3 in week twenty-seven of reading the Bible cover to cover

Of the various themes I notice as I read through the Bible, pride emerges again and again. Like roaches living through nuclear destruction, pride never dies.

The authors of scripture hammer against pride. Proverbs 16:5 serves as a good example—The Lord detests all the proud of heart. The sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

To what type of pride does Solomon refer? Pride in hard work, or an accomplishment, or as a proud papa? Not so much. Think more of arrogance, of boldly opposing the Lord, of setting our will against God’s will.

“Detests” slaps me in the face. I hear a lot about the love of God, but I rarely catch a word about this quality of heart the Lord detests. You could say the Lord abhors, the Lord despises, the Lord loathes people reveling in opposition to his will.

Which gives me pause. We live in the most openly narcissistic period in the history of the world. Humans have always been self-focused, but the encouragement to flaunt myself across every available platform appears truly modern. As I join the party, I skate ever closer to the pride of heart the Lord detests.

Satan’s fall resulted from his pride, hoping to make himself equal to the Lord. Should we be surprised that this remains the most effective trap he lays in our path today?

I know where my excessive pride leads. Solomon warned me with this true-through-the-ages principle (contradicting the shouts of cultural influencers)—Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

Proverbs 16 in week twenty-three of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Artem Page