What are you doing under There?

 Read Ecclesiastes 4.

A friend asked, "How are you doing?"  The answer, "The best I can do under the circumstances.  The comeback, "Well, what are you doing under there?"

Solomon spoke of what life is like "under the sun" or only from a human perspective.  Without an eternal purpose, disillusionment and discouragement will set in.  People are being mistreated and hurt without any comfort or resolve.  All a person's hard work appears in vain and left to others once they are gone. 

To paraphrase his question in verse 8, "Why am I doing this?"

The answer to that question is more important than what one is doing.  It goes straight to our motives and purpose in life.  

-Am I doing this for my physical health and well-being?  As important as that is, it will only prove to be temporal for a few years.   

-Am I doing this for financial strength and, perhaps, independence?  The best of us are financially vulnerable to the economy around us and one day we will leave 100% of it behind to others.   

-Are we doing it for altruistic reasons?  Making life better for others is a noble and honorable endeavor on any level.  Everyone should be involved in some way to help those in need, but in the end it is a band aid, not a solution to the most important lasting need.

When one has God's perspective on life (above the sun), the scenery and sense make a stark contrast.  We discover how the LORD designed us.  We do things that he gifted us to do.  As we work and serve the needs of others, it is with eternity in view.  Our life message is far beyond our personality, experience or achievements.  When we introduce another to a personal relationship with the living God, their lives are changed for now and forever.

Living life with a heavenly perspective is more than positive thinking.  It is understanding and appreciating what God is doing in us and the world.