Obsolescence- noun: the process of becoming obsolete or outdated and no longer used.

In our church small group, we have been reading the book, Living Life Backward by David Gibson. It is a look at the book of Ecclesiastes. I have found it life-changing or at least viewing-life-changing.

While at first blush the book of Ecclesiastes seems as if all life and all things are meaningless- hebel, like the wind- there is no pinning down anything: Life is short, elusive and repetitive. What is the point we might ask? Life is to bring honor and glory to the One who made all things and gifted us with all things. Part of achieving that is to enjoy life and all its beauty and pleasure. Not in a hedonistic way but in a way that shows appreciation for the gifts God has given. When I give a gift to a friend or family member, I am pleased when I see that they use it and truly enjoy it. I believe God is the same way. He wants us to enjoy and use the gifts He has given us.

In the book, Gibson describes the balance we must make in this life: we have one foot in the grave and one foot on the earth. We must recognize that we are all headed to death- don’t waste time on this earth. We must make the best use of everyday because sooner than we like to think, there will not be another day. In essence, we need to plan for our obsolescence. We need to “use it up” as I like to say but use our lives in a way that honors the Creator and uses the gifts the Creator has given us.

“When we accept in a deep way that we are going to die, that reality can stop us expecting too much from all the good things we pursue. We learn to pursue them for what they are in themselves rather than what we need them to be to make us happy Death reorients us to our limitations as creatures and helps us to see God’s good gifts right in front of us all the time, each and every day of our lives. Instead of using these gifts as means to a greater end of securing ultimate gain in the world, we take the time to live inside the gifts themselves and see the hand of God in them. Ordinarily, we eat and drink simply as fuel to enable us to keep going with our work. Ordinarily, we work not just to earn a living but to find satisfaction and purpose and very likely to make a reputation for ourselves and to achieve success. What if the pleasure of food is a daily joy that we ungratefully overlook? What if our work was never intended to make us successful but simply to make us faithful and generous? What if it is a death that show us that this how we are meant to live?” (Gibson, Living Life Backwards, p. 45.)

I’ve been thinking about planned obsolescence. As part of the tech/computer world, it may be a brilliant business strategy- plan for the item in question to break down or not even function in a set amount of time so that the consumer has to purchase a new, updated version- creating a ready income stream for the company. As a consumer and one who is cognizant of limited earth resources and hates waste, it is extremely frustrating.

But what would our lives look like if we planned for our obsolescence? If we knew that in a set amount of years, we would be outdated or not longer used? Would we live the intervening years differently? Would we live in a state of enjoying the gifts we have been given? Would we truly make every day count? Maybe not in earth shattering ways but in ways that matter to the people around us?

What about you? Have you wondered about the meaning of your life, especially in light of the last couple of years? Have you felt discouraged that all things are just hebel/meaningless/like a vapor?

One of the most interesting points I gleaned from Gibson’s book is toward the end of the chapters both in Ecclesiastes and his book: God commands us to find joy and pleasure in our lives. “Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.” Now before we think, “Woo Hoo, God is commanding us to go all wild,” there are guardrails for that journey. We live under and within God’s Truth and Love. Within that guidance, there is plenty of room for our journey.