27 “Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered:
“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
28 while I was still searching
but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman among them all.
29 This only have I found:
God created mankind upright,
but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Ecclesiastes 7:27-29
We finish chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes with the Teacher yet again pondering wisdom and folly. He shares the bitterness of searching for faithfulness and loyalty in a people only to be disappointed. He could barely find an upright person. He laments that it is so easy to be ensnared by others as we search in the wrong places. All who have experienced divorce or broken promises and broken hearts know the pain of decisions made when we are blinded by passion in the search for real love. In verse 29 the Teacher concludes that this is not the plan of God. “God created mankind upright but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
It reminds me of the children’s song,
Leader: God created people and said
Children: They are good.
Leader: God created flowers and said
Children: They are good.
Leader: Man created cars and
Children: They broke.
So what are you searching for today? What is the desire of your heart? My heart is broken this evening as I watch the news reels from Kenya of the mass demonstrations and chaos about new proposed taxation . We lived there for 25 years and experienced similar situations during elections. The search for an affordable lifestyle is definitely a desire of many hearts. I think of other countries engulfed in war. On the flip side of the coin are the victory marches of the young and talented who have been chosen to represent their countries in the Olympics this year. The search for fame and glory is always with us. We want our hard work and talents to be acknowledged. Perhaps you enjoy watching the FB clips of AGT and other spin-offs of American Idol where undiscovered talent is applauded. So what is your search? Let’s take the word “search” and build an acrostic writing for each letter a word. For example S is for security.
S is for ________
E is for ________
A is for ________
R is for ________
H is for ________
Let us spend a few moments praying over our desires but also praying for those who are caught in conflicts trying to make the wishes come true. Lord have mercy. Help us to be upright people.
On the Way to Wonder 