The Main Thing

What is the most important thing in life?

Being happy?  Being popular?  Being rich?  Being powerful?  Leaving a legacy?

There are many things we CAN pursue in this life – but what is the “BIG THING” that we simply MUST pursue?

King Solomon set out to find the answer to this question – and he was the right man for the job, because God had given him “wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” (1 Kings 4:29)

The book called Ecclesiastes reviews his journey, his search for the “Main Thing”.  If you read it in a hurry, it can seem like a rather depressing series of observations punctuated with the word “meaningless”!  But it is actually jam-packed with wisdom.  A lot of it does read like “bad news”, but this is because he considers all the things that you and I may desire and chase after – and concludes that chasing them is as meaningless as chasing the wind!  Maybe you’ve avoided reading this book (too “ecclesiastical”?J) – why not read it this week?

In chapter 1 verses 12-13 he states the purpose of his study:

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.  I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven…

Let’s take a quick look at some of the things he examined.  As we look at them, please understand that he is looking for the “BIG THING”, the thing that will make like profoundly meaningful.  The things he examined were generally GOOD things, attractive things… but when they are made the “BIG THING”, the main pursuit in life, they disappoint deeply – because they are not the most important thing!

Chapter 1 v 17:

I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

Solomon explored WISDOM – after all, this was his “number one request” of God.  As wonderful as it was, it let him down.  So he considered its opposite – FOLLY – free-for-all abandonment of wisdom – and that let him down too.

Chapter 2 v 1:

I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.

Solomon enjoyed a great many PLEASURES with all of his wealth, position and privilege.  But they too let him down.

Chapter 2 v 4-11:

4 I undertook great projects… 11 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.

Solomon was a man of great accomplishments.  He undertook many great PROJECTS – but, in the end (like Bono) he still hadn’t found what he was looking for!

Chapter 4 v 4

And I saw that all labour and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbour. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Solomon was an ACHIEVER of note – a man of great STATUS.  In our day he would have been on many magazine covers!  But he perceived that this was all about trying to be the “top dog”, better than all those around him.  He won the competition hands down – and found it to be an empty and meaningless victory!

Chapter 5 v 10

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.  This too is meaningless.

Solomon was the richest man in the world – he had more WEALTH than he knew what to do with.  It left him rich and empty – it was all “meaningless”!

After his exhaustive – and exhausting – study, we find Solomon’s conclusion in chapter 12 verses 13-14.  This is the final conclusion of a lengthy study by the wisest man in the world, so we should sit up straight, listen carefully and make notes!!

Are you ready for this?

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Solomon’s conclusion is that GOD is the “main thing”.  Fearing and obeying GOD is the main thing.  Everything else will let you down; you’ll find yourself chasing the wind and end up exhausted and empty.  Fearing and obeying God brings ultimate meaning and satisfaction. 

What exactly is Solomon saying?  What does he mean by fear and obey?  It’s the most important thing, so we need to understand!  Here’s what I’m seeing:

Solomon’s conclusion is that our INTERNAL and EXTERNAL lives need to be directed to pleasing God. 

The fear of God is our internal state: our hearts must be in reverent submission to God.

Obedience is our external state: our actions must bear witness to this reverent submission to God.

We find the same answer in the New Testament.  In Matthew 22:34-38 we read of an expert in the Jewish law asking Jesus the big question:

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

37 Jesus replied: " `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. "

The first and the greatest – the “MAIN THING” – is to love God with all we are – heart, soul and mind.

Jesus concurred with Solomon: the main thing is that God is the main thing – that God is the most important person in our lives.

Now… let’s do a “reality check”: this is easy enough to read and understand… it is relatively easy to embrace as truth… but TO DO IT IS ANOTHER MATTER!!

So ask yourself: What is your “main thing”? What is your number one priority in life?  Honestly now!! J

If you’ve done some soul-searching on this, you may have concluded with me that this is easier said than done – because our secular culture teaches us that WE are the main thing.  Everywhere, we hear the message – I am the big thing!  Everything revolves around pleasing ME…  My space, MY way, MY banking, MY rights…

What Jesus and Solomon are teaching us is counter-culture and often counter-intuitive – it feels wrong.  Even when we come to Christ, we often come to him for what HE can do for US.  We want a “Get out of Hell free card”!   We want healing.  We want miraculous provision.  We don’t come looking to serve him; we come looking for him to serve us.  We are the main thing! 

Some of us have heard a “Consumer Gospel” that says something like this:  Jesus is waiting out there for us, knocking on our doors, just wanting to come into our lives and make everything nice for us, saving us, healing us, providing for us, protecting us… It’s a message that makes US the main thing instead of God!!  And when we allow this to infect the church, we become a self-seeking “I’ll do what suits ME” people.  The church becomes a sort of club.  Things must suit us or we won’t come, so meetings get tailored to our needs.  Our prayers are focused on our own needs.  Our giving becomes an “investment” from which we expect a good return.

I believe that this is one reason why our personal and our church experiences are lacking much of the glory we read of in Acts.  Certainly, the church we read of in Acts was not a club of consumers!  It was a family of totally committed, “sold-out” followers of Christ!

We all need to ask and honestly answer the big question for ourselves: “What – or who – is the main thing in my life?”  We now know the right answer, so the question changes:

“God must be the main thing in my life – so how do I get there?”

I am convinced that the starting point is to PRAY. 

And the starting point of our prayers needs to be the prayer that Jesus taught – what many of us know as “The Lord’s Prayer”.

For many of us, The Lord’s Prayer has been reduced to a ritualistic recital – we can recite it almost unconsciously – and it has little impact on us.   For others of us, we have discarded it as a piece of outdated liturgy in outdated English – or even never learned it.

So listen afresh to the prayer Jesus taught as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13:

This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven, (God who is far, far greater than me)

hallowed be your name, (let your name be treated with utmost reverence)

your kingdom come, (be king in my life and in your world; rule over me and over your world)

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (May my life be exactly how you would have it).

(Up to this point, our prayer is all about God.  Only now do we get to “me”:)

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Our first cry to God must be something like this: 

God, you are God and I am not.  You are in heaven and I am not.  You are far, far greater than me, greater than I can imagine, and I am in awe of you.  It is an awesome privilege to be able to call you, God in heaven, my father!  I WORSHIP YOU FOR YOUR GREATNESS AND YOUR GOODNESS!

All honour must surely go to you; may you receive my utmost honour and reverence.  May you be first in my heart and in my life, that those around me will also revere you.

You are the God Almighty, the Great King; I submit my life to your rule and ask you to rule in me and around me.  May your rule spread over all the world!

You are perfect, so your will is perfect – may your perfect will be done in my life.  I submit my will to yours, and ask that when you and I differ, when heaven and earth differ, may your will prevail!

Amen!  Now, about some of my needs…

The Lord’s Prayer starts with “making the main thing the main thing”.  Its all about putting God first.

John Piper makes an important observation here: Jesus is teaching us to PRAY FOR THESE THINGS – because THEY DON’T COME NATURALLY; we need divine intervention to make God our main thing!!  We are asking God to enable us to get this right – to stop living with ourselves as the main thing and to start living with him as the main thing.

Solomon assures us – this is the ONLY way to a meaningful life.  Jesus confirms this – and he gives us the prayer that will get us there.

Let’s pray it!

Let’s pray it some more!! 

Let’s keep on praying it so that God WILL be – and stay – our main thing!!!

And “watch this space”… see what God does!!  No more “meaningless” pursuits!  Instead, we will discover the GLORIOUS things he has in store for us – as we learn to live his Kingdom life!!