BBD 04.21.06 Making Noise
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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04.21.06
Making Noise
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. "Vanity of
vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." What
profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? -
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3.
The NIV translates verse 2 as: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
For 2 ½ years Miyoko Kawahara made a lot of noise and she became nationally
known in Japan as "Mrs. Noisy." Kawahara is a surprising 59-years-old, I say
surprising, because usually we think of younger people as being the
violators of the sound waves with unwanted noise. Kawahara became "Mrs.
Noisy" by blaring music from her balcony, and screaming insults to those who
passed by. She also enjoyed beating her bedding as loudly as possible out on
her balcony. A neighbor developed insomnia and headaches from the noise of
"Mrs. Noisy." The long arm of the law has finally caught up with Miyoko and
she has been given a sentence of a year in jail for her unwanted noise. She
will probably be released from jail after serving just three months of the
sentence and neighbors are already worried.
In a way, we can think of a meaningless life as a life of just making noise.
It may be that Mrs. Kawahara has been in her own way trying to find some
meaning for her life. Sadly, she ended up just making a whole lot of noise
and irritating everyone who passed by along with all of her neighbors. To
some extent, her noise irritated the entire country and time in jail is the
price she is having to pay.
What about your life? What about my life? Are we just making noise? Or, are
we making music with a life of meaning? Solomon was confronted with this
very question thousands of years ago. Here was a man who had everything the
world says should make a person have a meaningful life. Solomon had it all.
He had power, he had riches, and he had fame. Solomon looked out at his vast
domain as he searched for meaning, for life.and he saw nothing but noise.
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" he cried. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is
meaningless." Everything that he had and he had it all seemed to be just a
lot of noise.
Solomon is said to have been the wisest man who ever lived. Although at some
points of his life, he did not use the great wisdom God had blessed him
with. The example, the good example Solomon has given us is that he finally
did understand how to make music with his life and not just noise. Hear the
great wisdom and experience of Solomon as he concludes the book of
Ecclesiastes by saying, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will
bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good
or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)."
We can search the world and try everything but there is ultimately only one
place to go to find meaning in life. Actually, it is not a place it is a
person. We must go to God, give our lives to Him and then we will find that
our lives are no longer just making noise. The apostle Peter put it another
way, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)."
Allow the Master, the Creator to have control of your life and you will
discover the noise is gone but in its place will be composition that all who
encounter will describe as being a masterpiece. Allow the Master to bring
the music of meaning forth from your heart.
Copyright © 2006. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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