My Dad used to say, “I’ve been down that road and I know where it goes. You don’t want to go there.” That is about the same as Solomon when he looked at life “backward” in the book of Ecclesiastes.
When you are twelve, sixteen or twenty-one you generally look at life from today forward – to the future. Solomon, however, came to the point where most of his life was in the past, and he had learned things that his sons and others needed to know. Hence, Ecclesiastes.
For centuries fathers and grandfathers have sought to keep their offspring from the pitfalls of life. The following will be some “advice” from several who have looked at life “backward,” having been down “that road” and learned the lessons, often the hard way.
Make the Right Choices
But what are the right choices? And how can one know the “right way” of 1 Samuel 12:23 and 2 Peter 2:15? This is where parents and other Christians should come to the fore. If youth are willing to listen, and older Christians are willing to point out the “right way,” good can come.
Thirty years down the “road,” your choice of a mate, a profession and your direction in life will be far more important than throwing or catching a ball, how much hair is on your head, or the kind of vehicle you drove thirty years before. It will bear upon your contentment in life and your confidence for eternity. Make good choices. Early in life!
Take Care of Your Body
Not that I paid much attention to it, but the advice I heard as a young man was, “What you put into your body today will determine your health in the future.” Many, in our modern culture are learning this lesson, again, the “hard way.” Our body should be the “temple” in which the Holy Spirit dwells, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Therefore, we are told to “glorify God in our body.”
The human body is a marvelous gift from God. It is capable of wondrous good — or evil. Some, by abusing their body, or simply not giving proper attention to the needs of the body, have lost everything. Take good care of your body!
Grow Up
Biblically, socially and personally we cannot remain “children” into our adult years. There may be advantages to using the “I’m still young” excuse when mistakes are made, but that does not help much when you come face to face with tough decisions and the hard ways of life. At some point you must grow up and take responsibility for your life and your actions.
You can count on making mistakes – all of us have and will. In order to learn from your mistakes, however, you must be willing to “look them in the eye.”
It’s a two-way street. Mom and Dad must let you grow up, and you must want to grow up.
Listen
Someone will need to help you learn who is worth listening to, but one of the hardest lessons to learn is to be willing to listen. Listen to those who can inform you, teach you, help you, challenge you. We enter this world with a cry, and it takes a long time for us to know when to “hush” and when to listen. Proverbs 15:32 and 17:28 both address this subject:
- “A fool also is full of words..”
- “He that refuses instruction despises his own soul.”
Those who study human behavior tell us that the more immature a person is, the more likely they talk too much. Learning, however, takes place only when we are listening to someone who can impart wisdom and knowledge. When you get to the point at which you look at life backward, you will see times when you should have listened instead of spouting off. Think also of this truth:
“For every thing there is a season…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak,” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7
The hard part is knowing when to speak and when to be silent.
Get Serious
Now that you are maturing, learning to make good choices, to listen and take care of yourself, then it’s time to get serious. Now, you need to begin to look at the long-range plans that have been generating in your brain, sorting them out and letting the best rise to the surface. Getting serious!
The most important matter for you now is to get serious about your faith, your commitment to God. Yes, youth is a time to learn, to test your wings, to “find yourself”, as they say. But it is really a time to consider another of Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 11:9-10:
“Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes: but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”
Dream your dreams, enjoy life and ponder the future. But don’t forget that God has instructed you how to live, and He will hold you responsible for your deeds.
Looking “backward” at life can be a joyous time. Don’t mess it up.
