Whatever you do, do it the best you can
Inspirational
I've Heard That All My Life!
Familiar Expressions from the Bible
Object:
Expression: Whatever you do, do it the best you can
Location: Ecclesiastes 9:10
Verse: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might....
"Whatever you do, do it the best you can" is advice which might be given by the parent to the child. This wonderful advice is given by the teacher to the student. This expression could be said to the athlete by the coach.
There is nothing wrong with this expression and this advice. However, seeing it appear in the book of Ecclesiastes makes us think on the whole subject more. When studying the book of Ecclesiastes, we must keep several points in mind.
Solomon is considered by many to be the writer. Solomon also wrote most of the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs we see the wisdom of Solomon and how life ought to be if everyone acted fairly. But in Ecclesiastes we see what often happens in this imperfect world around us. In Ecclesiastes we read about human philosophy apart from God. People try to be happy without God, but this book shows the absurdity of the attempt. We learn that without God we cannot be satisfied. Worldly things cannot satisfy the heart.
The key word in Ecclesiastes is "vanity." This writing comes to conclusions which human beings reach through their own intelligence or experiments.
This expression which we find in Ecclesiastes is good on its own. But read what follows the expression: "... for there is no work, nor device [thought], nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
It is certainly true that the body lying in the grave can no longer write books, read books, use computers, or build houses. Solomon is speaking only of the body. In fact, he says, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do...." He is not talking about the soul. The hand will go in the grave, but if we are a child of God, our soul will go into the presence of our Lord.
Location: Ecclesiastes 9:10
Verse: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might....
"Whatever you do, do it the best you can" is advice which might be given by the parent to the child. This wonderful advice is given by the teacher to the student. This expression could be said to the athlete by the coach.
There is nothing wrong with this expression and this advice. However, seeing it appear in the book of Ecclesiastes makes us think on the whole subject more. When studying the book of Ecclesiastes, we must keep several points in mind.
Solomon is considered by many to be the writer. Solomon also wrote most of the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs we see the wisdom of Solomon and how life ought to be if everyone acted fairly. But in Ecclesiastes we see what often happens in this imperfect world around us. In Ecclesiastes we read about human philosophy apart from God. People try to be happy without God, but this book shows the absurdity of the attempt. We learn that without God we cannot be satisfied. Worldly things cannot satisfy the heart.
The key word in Ecclesiastes is "vanity." This writing comes to conclusions which human beings reach through their own intelligence or experiments.
This expression which we find in Ecclesiastes is good on its own. But read what follows the expression: "... for there is no work, nor device [thought], nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
It is certainly true that the body lying in the grave can no longer write books, read books, use computers, or build houses. Solomon is speaking only of the body. In fact, he says, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do...." He is not talking about the soul. The hand will go in the grave, but if we are a child of God, our soul will go into the presence of our Lord.
