Ecclesiastes 5: 8 – 6: 12
- In an NIV Bible find the words “consume”, “eats”, “eat”, and “enjoy”.
- What is a ‘gift from God’?
- What is the condition that means a stillborn child is better off than a person?
- What is meant today by ‘consumerism’?
- How does your identity as a consumer conflict with your identity as a child of God?
“All you can eat” made me fat at Moody Bible Institute. I consumed more than I was designed to eat. I had been raised by a ‘consumer’ who gorged at pizza buffets or banquets when there was no limit on consumption. I couldn’t control my appetite until I realized how I was hurting my body. How did I learn to consume more and more? With the help of God I have lost 30 lbs since being a student at Moody. I have learned to resist the messages that tell me that I should be consuming more. How much of the world’s finite resources are you consuming each day?
Going Deeper
Observation
- As goods increase what also increases?
- How does a person come and depart?
- God sometimes allows a person to accept his lot and what?
- What is better than the roving of the appetite?
- What comes with more words?
Interpretation
- How does Matthew 6:32 reinforce the teaching of this passage?
- How does Proverbs 30:8-9 reinforce this passage?
- How does 1 Timothy 6: 5-10 capture the thrust of Ecclesiastes?
- How can the human longing for more be satisfied?
- What was available for consumers to consume in ancient times?
Application
- What have advertisers told you that you need to consume in the last 24 hours?
- What do you consume more than is healthy for you?
- When you look at where we live, what we drive and what we eat compare it to those in Sudan, Iraq, or Bolivia. What does such a comparison show?
- How can people without washing machines, automobiles and indoor plumbing be happier than we are sometimes?
- How could you make a personal plan to balance the consumption of te world’s resources a little? How would this be an act of worship?
Plymothian 