Bible: 5 Poetic Books

Lesson 6: The Book of Ecclesiastes: An age-old question!

Inspiration and activities

1. "Life is a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Words of advice from Forrest Gump. Come up with 10 of your own "Life is" statements. I'll get you started:

1. Life is a puzzle, and the final piece is God!

2-10 are up to you!

2. See one in the list above that you particularly like? It's screaming to be made into a poem!(Or perhaps you'd like to work many of them together into a longer work...)

3. Solomon's repetition of the word "meaningless" is a reminder to people that whatever we chase after on earth is meaningless without God. Did you ever notice how the chorus of a song has the same effect? We sing one particular part of a song over and over again before the song ends--it drives home the main message. Try writing some song lyrics for a song titled "The Meaning of Life".

4. Number three is really talking about greed. Read the following poem I wrote about greed (suitable for both children and adults, I think), and then try your own:

Greed (Missing the Point)

A tenner, a fiver, a sawbuck, a fin, I’ve got plenty of them, my ship has come in. Some lettuce, some cabbage, some kale, some green, I’ve got much more money than you’ve ever seen. A dollar, a franc, a drachma, a pound, I’ve got piles of them just lying around. I’ve made lots of pesos and rubles and yen, And then I lucked out--hit the jackpot again! I’ve got fame and fortune, my house is worth millions, I love all my cash, I’m worth billions and billions. I’m rolling in money, I’m dripping in wealth, I’m lining my pockets, I’ve still got my health, I’ve mammon and wampum, bread, bucks, and dough, There’s still something missing, something I don’t have though. You don’t have what I have, but you seem to have more, Compared to my fortune, you’re incredibly poor. But I see that you’re richer than I’ve ever been, Your life’s more complete, and you know what I mean:

You talk about faith, love, and charity too-- I don’t seem to have them, Can I buy them from you?

5. Look at your life "before and after" you became Christian. Write a poem where you play with these two differing views:

"BEFORE, it was all me, me, me NOW I am a servant for the LORD..."

BEFORE NOW

BEFORE NOW

BEFORE NOW

6. Some of the BIG themes in this chapter involve:

Searching: Think of Hollywood and write a first person narrative about some famous celebrity who was always searching but never happy apart from God. Then, take out all the MEANINGLESS words (a, an, the, which, that, who, whom, am, is, are, was, were—and craft a poem from it!

Emptiness: Into cars? Write a poem with an extended metaphor entitled: MY TANK IS EMPTY.

Work: What is the job that God would have you do? Make up a resume you’d use to apply for that job.

Death: Practice makes perfect, but our short time on earth means that we probably don’t have time to learn from mistakes for every situation. How can God spare you this burden, and what are you committed to doing to make best use of the gifts God has given you for your short stay on earth?

Wisdom: Write “THE WISE GUY’S GUIDE TO LIFE!”

I hope you enjoy the exercises above. You may not find a meaningful life in them, but enjoy the process!

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