Sorrow > Laughter? Take it to heart.

"I'd rather conduct a funeral than a wedding any day."

I was taken back when he made the comment.

"Why?" I asked with a puzzled tone in my voice.

"Because people often have their minds and their hearts open at a funeral. But at a wedding everyone simply wants to get to the reception!"

I was surprised by what I thought was my older, more experienced, pastor friend's cynical tone.

Years have passed. I still think about that statement at nearly every wedding or funeral I officiate.

And I thought of it again when I read Ecclesiastes 7:2:

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting,for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.

I wonder...

How often do we live with what someone called "the end in mind"? How often do we take the things that are significant "to heart"?

Years ago we bought a GPS (global positioning system). I have to confess, the car for which we bought it had a busted speedometer and purchasing the GPS was cheaper than having the repair done to the vehicle.

Since then I have come to appreciate the purchase. The GPS is one of my favorite "toys" I own.

Whenever I go on a trip, I plug it in and punch in the place I want to arrive at the end of the journey. No worries. The GPS helps me get wherever I need to go.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 says we should constantly be pulling up our life's GPS, remembering where we want to end up, and then making turns and corrections based upon that location.

Think about it.

If you want to end up with a strong marriage, then this affects the conversations you have, the words you choose, the fights you decide NOT to pick, the times you're willing to talk even when you don't feel like it.

If you want to end up with children who are spiritual champions, it means you get out of bed and get them to church regularly (even when it would be easier to sleep in), you find times and places to have spiritual conversations, and you do your best to model for them what a faithful, passionate Christian looks like.

I think Ecclesiastes 7:2 is telling us death causes us to "take things to heart" or give consideration to things we might easily ignore.

Too often life numbs us to what really matters and convinces us to become drunk on things that are nothing more than "chasing after the wind" (to borrow the phrase from The Teacher of Ecclesiastes).

My personal challenge, and the challenge I'd like to lay before you today is to "take to heart" the things that matter. Set a course correction if you need to and point your life in the direction of the place you want to end up.

Grace & peace