Hi guys, thanks fer visiting

Today I just wanna ponder on this statement I found in a book in the self-help section

"life is suffering"

and it goes further on to discuss on the matter on how you should live your life.
The principle?

" accepting the basic principle that life is not a bed of roses, will open new horizons and you will live a better life "

when i read the statement, i felt a cold rush in the spine... Life is suffering... The cold hard truth, and yet i am living in denial... I've always seen hardwork and discipline a form of guaranteeing your success, but seeing this statement just makes me wonder...

Thinking about this, i should read the verse in Genesis where man is condemned because of sin

Genesis 1:17

17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which i commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'

"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plains of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return "

From this it seems that man was condemned to work til he dies. In modern perspective, this is ideal. Not only it delays senile dementia but it gives you more meaningful ways to live your last days. In my internship company, the head all wanna work til they die. Cliche but ironically true. Our church motto, coincidentally my secondary school motto revolves around being man worthy of God and man, and in modern terms, a man who is able to advance mankind one way or the other.

So in the end it all points down to work. Life is suffering. How does work fit in? almost everything. We study a quarter of our lives so we can happily rot the rest of it. Thats a pessimistic approach, but maybe heres a more optimistic one, Pastor gave a statement last night at a wake, " We are dying the moment we were born "

How true. I still cant handle this truth... I checked my study bible index and found this.

Ecclesiastes 3:17 - 23

" So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

I hated all the things i have toiled under the sun, because i must leave them to the one who comes after me

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless

So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.

For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?

All his days his work is pain and grief, even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. "

I think you Christians out there find this verse all too familiar. Here lies King Solomon, old and dying reflecting about his life. I think he knows all too well, the terms "life is suffering". Sure he gained almost everything a man ever desired in the world, but ultimately did it fill the void that every person has in his heart?

The void. Its in everyone of us. Those who claim they do not have it, have not matured to the stage or are living in denial. Either way the harsh honesty that the world has for us will crush one day, sooner or later. We might go through dark ages and golden eras of our lives but its all like Solomon's favorite phrase, " Meaningless, everything is meaningless "

So now i think again. Why work if everything is meaningless? Lets debate slightly further on the 2 greatest commandments.

1st

" Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your might "

2nd

" Love your neighbor as yourself "

The 2nd is what Confucius also taught, " Do to others what you want others to do unto you".

So what has work got to do with this 2 verses? Basically its this. If we are to love God with everything we have we got to keep his commandments. Or rather his condemnations as well. Remember the verses in Genesis?

2nd verse is primarily on being a burden onto others. I found a verse in 2 Thessalonians which says

" Nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so tat we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:8-10)

Paul and his disciples chose not to accept free meals from the thessalonians even if they offered him. because he wants them to learn to earn their daily bread. Or rather he does not want to be a burden

modern context wise, "a man who accelerates the advance of man" = "a man who does not slow everybody down". Thats a awful lot of pressure dont you think? I mean, in singapore alone where your standing in society depends on the number of paper that claims how smart you are, or you ability to handle business...

You dont need to look far away. Just look at your families, friends, classmates, churchmates, the news. Your success and stature is determined by merits... We are all victims of "life is suffering"

The book where i obtained the quote from rambles on, that discipline and delayed gratification will allow you to excel in life. Solomon will agree to this then tear the books to atomic particles ( our church Solomon looks like he might have the strength to ) and proceed back to his grave. Then again, if he does that there wont be a "self help" or "self improvement" section in bookstores anymore...

More like we are worker ants. We are mostly working not for ourselves but for others. Thats why so many people want to become their own bosses. Not always for the reason of pride, and those who cannot make the climb will tumble back to status worker ant.

Ok, let me try to summarize what I have been talking about the past half an hour. "life is suffering", Its true cos Adam chose to disobey God. We have to obey his judgment and work til we die. Not because we wanna prolong life and suffering but because we do not want to be a burden to man, and we need to eat ( to suffer more ). But the principle of work is meaningless if we dedicate our life to only work. It will be more significant if we are going to do it for God.

Ok tell me wat you think, I am interested to hear. There is nothing wrong in trying to discover the purpose of life. So waiting for some news. See ya!