The Whole Duty of Man - Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14

by David Woods

You know you're getting older when...

• Everything that works hurts, and what doesn't hurt doesn't work.
• You feel like the morning after, and you haven't been anywhere.
• Your little black book only contains names ending in M.D.
• Your children are beginning to look middle-aged.
• Your mind makes contracts your body can't keep.
• You look forward to a dull evening.
• Your knees buckle and your belt won't.
• Your back goes out more than you do.
• You sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there.
• You know all the answers, but nobody asks the questions.

Discussion: When you think of Solomon, for what do you remember him?

Discussion: What kind of legacy would you say Solomon left?

Reflection: What kind of legacy would others say you left, if you were to die today?

Discussion: What are some of the things you would like people to say about you after you pass on?

Read Ecclesiastes 12:3-8

These verses are a metaphor for old age.

Discussion: Identify to what aspect of old age each of these descriptions refer.

Old age is a great leveler of mankind. It doesn't matter how rich you become or how high in society you rise, each of us grow old. And… we each have to deal with the problems of getting older.

Maybe you've heard of the three retirees, each with a hearing loss, who were taking a walk one fine March day. One remarked to the other, "Windy, ain't it?" "No," the second man replied, "It's Thursday." And the third man chimed in, "So am I. Let's have a coke."

If our lives are completely bound up in this life, no doubt we may become disillusioned like Solomon. For even though we may have it all, it really doesn't matter when all we have is in this life.

How can we live so that we do not become disillusioned about life like Solomon? Solomon writes, "Fear God, and keep his commandments."

Discussion: How does one "fear God"?

Discussion: How does reverence toward and obedience of God result in a fulfilled life?

* The jokes in this lesson were taken from: http://www.ahajokes.com/age27.html & http://www.ahajokes.com/age18.html

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