{"id":38733,"date":"2024-10-09T07:32:23","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T14:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38733"},"modified":"2024-10-09T07:32:23","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T14:32:23","slug":"100-years-is-meaningless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/100-years-is-meaningless\/","title":{"rendered":"100 Years is Meaningless!"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fun thought experiment is offered in the reading this week by Gratton and Scott in their book, The 100-Year Life. <\/em>What will my life look like if I live to the ripe old age of 100? Will I have enough money? Will I still have family around? Will I simply be bedridden and waiting to die. What seismic shifts in our culture might I have lived through?<\/p>\n

Gratton and Scott tap into their psychologist and economist backgrounds and using a science backed approach offer three simplistic outcomes for different generations. Granted, their outcomes admittedly don\u2019t have many negative life circumstances. They advance ideas about how we might live longer and how to plan for it now. An argument is made that the traditional three stages of life (education, work, retirement) are no longer really useful.<\/p>\n

As I read this book, I couldn\u2019t help but compare it against the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes and how the Teacher repeatedly states it is all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.[1]<\/a> There are three general themes offered by the Teacher throughout the book of Ecclesiastes and it is good to wrestle with this ancient sage and these new modern authors. The three themes found in Ecclesiastes are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The march of time.<\/li>\n
  2. We are all going to die.<\/li>\n
  3. Life\u2019s random nature.[2]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Working as Time Marches On<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The 100-Year Life <\/em>argues for a positive future, where we will have enough money, relational resources and physical stamina to enjoy the benefits of longevity. Yet, they also recognize that the current pathway our society is on can be negative. “This is the curse: constant work, boredom, diffusion of energy, missed opportunities, culminating in an old age of poverty and regret.”[3]<\/a> Ecclesiastes warns about this kind of life as well,\u00a0\u201cBut as I looked at everything, I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless\u2014like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

    We cannot add or subtract days to our lives. What we can do is use our time well. If we as a society will add years to our lives, how will we use this time for God\u2019s glory and for the common good? Surely, it should not be used simply by adding more leisure hours in front of the TV.<\/p>\n

    We are all Going to Die<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The Teacher writes in chapter 3, \u201cFor everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.\u00a0A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.\u201d[5]<\/a> Though the verses might seem morbid at first glance, there is much beauty in meditating on them. There is a time for everything, and we can look at the season we are currently in to prepare for the next season. I buy new gloves every Fall as I prepare for the next Minnesota Winter. Likewise, I understand that the season of life I am in right now will change. What can I do to prepare for the next season? This doctoral program is part of that preparation for whatever God has in store for me.<\/p>\n

    Gratton and Scott discuss the idea of Crucible Experiences. These experiences allow people “to glimpse the totality of human existence: the life that got these people to this place, the pressures they are under, and the opportunities they face.”[6]<\/a> Reflecting on who we are, what season we are in, and where we want the next season to take us gives us an opportunity to move into the next phase of life well.<\/p>\n

    The Randomness of Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

    After detailing the futile nature of working, saving and preparing for the future, the wise Teacher tells his students, to enjoy life when they can. Drink wine! Wear nice clothes! Love your wife and be happy![7]<\/a> Surely, the life span during the time of this Teacher was nowhere near 100 years old. Was the Teacher even in his fifth decade of life? The Teacher reminds us that we can plan (and we should) but even then, we cannot control what is beyond us so we should learn to enjoy this wonderful life the Lord has given us.<\/p>\n

    This week\u2019s reading poses a problem for the reader and all potential modern-day centurions. We will face a problem of what to do with all the extra time and “how to use his freedom from pressing cares, how to occupy the leisure which science and compound interest will have won for him, to live wisely and agreeably and well.”[8]<\/a> The authors admittedly give three positive examples (Jack, Jimmy and Jane) but they do not account for the random nature of life. Recently, the health and workout guru, Richard Simmons passed away and he was only in his 70\u2019s! If anyone was healthy enough to live into Centurion-hood would it not be a health guru?<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    So, where do we go from here? We should realize that our lives might be longer than we expect, and we should make plans for it. However, as we make plans for our long future, we should not neglect to enjoy the season of life we are currently in. God has put us in this very space and in this very time. Though it may be confusing and challenging it is not a surprise to the One who controls all things.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> \u201cBlue Letter Bible\u201d NLT Ecc. 1:14 (Web: Blue Letter Bible, 2017).<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> \u201cWhat Is Ecclesiastes About? | Learn Its Meaning and Wisdom,\u201d Bible Project, accessed October 7, 2024, https:\/\/bibleproject.com\/explore\/video\/wisdom-ecclesiastes\/.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Lynda Gratton and Andrew J. Scott, The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity<\/em>, 1st edition (Bloomsbury Information, 2016), 4.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Ecc. 2:11<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Ecc. 3:1f<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Gratton and Scott, 179.<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> Ecc 9:7ff<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a> Gratton and Scott, 230.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A fun thought experiment is offered in the reading this week by Gratton and Scott in their book, The 100-Year Life. What will my life look like if I live to the ripe old age of 100? Will I have enough money? Will I still have family around? Will I simply be bedridden and waiting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3205,3206,2967],"class_list":["post-38733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-gratton","tag-scott","tag-dlgp03","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38734,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38733\/revisions\/38734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}