Rebecca Inglis - September 1, 2019
Less is More
When my twin daughters were born almost 17 years ago, a number of people shared ‘encouragement’ with me in the form of a card, poster or a message containing Ecclesiastes 4 verse 9, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” It did not always feel like “two are better than one” when I had two babies. Two hungry all the time babies, two crying babies, two babies who never wanted to sleep at the same time. People would say, “You’ve got your hands full!” And yes, that was pretty much stating the obvious. At times the verse a little earlier in the chapter was much more relatable and desirable, “Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:6) For the record, when it comes to babies, I can honestly say, now, that two are better than one. But this conflict in the scripture leads me to question, which is it, Solomon? Are two better than one, or is one handful better than two handfuls? Which way is best? The world around us tells us that more is more; more money, more houses, more clothes, more experiences, more extra-curricular activities for our kids, more meetings, more parties. But Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, is not simply stating that having two of something is better than having one. Solomon had hundreds of concubines, many stables with the best horses, many wives and lots of pieces of gold. He is not speaking of the number of possessions or even the number of people he had around him. In the midst of his pursuits, he found that he did not have quality relationships with the few that were around him. Solomon had so many ‘handfuls', but felt he was chasing after the wind; his life lacked meaning and it was just hard. People need relationship; meaningful relationship with God and relationship with other people. However, for some of us, our hands have become so full that we have no space to reach out to interact, to comfort or connect with others; even with those who mean the most to us.
Scripture References: Ecclesiastes 4:6
From Series: "Multiply"
Our 4 part series on finance management and giving. Less is More Stress is Bad Giving is Good and Tomorrow Matters
