Familiarity

Ecclesiastes 1:⁸ “All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” (ESV, emphasis added).

We will kick off today’s devotional with our final thought from yesterday, which flows from our anchor scripture. You cannot see finish (pidgin term for over-familiarity that leads to a loss of respect). Even in the things you think you are familiar with, there are endless possibilities that you have not experienced. Which is why familiarity is such a limiting factor with God, with people, even with your children. Some people are holding their children in contempt because they have become familiar with them. However, that child you are looking at as small, what he or she is capable of doing will shock you to your bones. Jesus’ mother refused to look at Jesus as small. She said to the servants at the wedding in Cana in John 2, “whatever He tells you to do, do it”.

When you become familiar with someone, a situation, your organization, boss, spouse, or child, you are actually limiting yourself. And it is because there are endless possibilities with the person that you have limited yourself [become familiar] with. You think, is it not just X, meanwhile X is capable of ten thousand other things that will blow your mind completely. Ecclesiastes 1:⁸ “…the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” (ESV, emphasis added). The eyes cannot see finish. See finish is a limitation because when you think you have seen everything about something or someone, you have actually limited yourself. Why? “…the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”

But in the context of this scripture as it pertains to life, Solomon was saying that he had seen everything, and it was because he had the resources to explore. Yet his conclusion at the end of it all is that all is vanity. You could see this scripture through the lens of someone going through a depressed state. And that may be correct; however, it is for a reason. It is because of the emptiness of beating around the bush. The person who is just beating around the bush cannot achieve much. In the office setting, for example, the person who is beating around the bush will not achieve much or deliver any project. If your life is going to be fruitful and productive, you need to stay with the heart of the matter.

Solomon had three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines. If he sleeps with one woman per night, one year [365 days] won’t be enough. The women only get to see their man or husband once every two years. Yet he said in Ecclesiastes 12:¹³ “That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.”

Prayer: Father, help me to rid myself of familiarity completely, in the Name of Jesus. Amen!