Day 39- What in the WORLD does that mean?

For the last few days, I've been thinking. We all know Jefferson's words (borrowed from my good friend John Locke) in the Declaration of Independance. Ya know. Inalieable rights, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness."
The meaning of each of those terms depends drastically upon whom you ask.

For example. What is life? Breathing? Working in a cubicle all day crunching numbers? Cruising down a mountain with a piece of fiberglass strapped to your feet? Worshiping the Creator of all things in music, prayer or service? Climbing a mountain? Working in the garden? Partying until you start puking? These are all plausible answers. Here's the question; who is right? People may agree on who is right, but who really is? What Jefferson meant back in 1776 was likely completely different than what we mean now. He may have meant the simple act of breathing. Which I suppose means that people have the right to actually be alive. Ok. Fine. I'll buy that. But if all I did was breath, this would be some crummy, mundane existance.

Liberty. What does that mean? To be free? How free of a society is it when a group of friends can't ride their skateboards in a parking lot without being told that their fun is intolerable and that they can't skate on campus, like what just happened to myself a few minutes ago. The thing is, you can get a ticket for riding a skateboard anywhere in Bellingham. Some freedom. What would Jefferson say to that? Chances are, he didn't realize that the capitalism which he so willingly supported would grow so intense that the simple of breaking an arm could mean years of legal wrangling over who had to pay for it.

The pursuit of happiness. OK. This is the one that's really been on my thoughts. There's two parts to this: the "pursuit" part and the "happiness" part. The pursuit is intersting, because it sort of implies that happiness cannot be obtained. However. As a United States citizen, I have the right to try to be happy. Happiness. What does it mean to be happy? To me, the first thing that comes to mind is to be content with the situation, if only for a moment in time. Say, I'm playing the bass in a church service, and I'm helping lead people into the presence of God with the worship team, and while I'm playing, I feel so close to my Creator that I just want to dance. To me, that's happiness.

Reading in Ecclesiastes about "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" That makes me happy, because it's a really righteous guy (Solomon) being brutally honest about the world.
Ecclesiastes is what actually got me on this topic. If you own Switchfoot's album Nothing is Sound, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you need to read the entire book of Ecclesiastes, then listen to the album again. Because it's definitely a driving force in Jon Foreman's writing. I'm a student of history, and every day I become more evident of this world's brokenness. Where others see beautiful cities, I see corruption, violence and a policy of forcing Native Americans to assimilate because white people "do it better." Pastors in big churches across the country being discovered in sexual sin. Wildfires burning down people's houses. Centuries of deception and distrust in the Middle East accelerated by oil hungry, faction splitting, deceiving imperialist nations.

That's why I like Ecclesiastes. It tells me I'm not alone. One of the wisest people in the history of the world felt the same way that I do. He comes to a few conclusions. One: Have fun while it lasts. You have one chance at life on this dustball we call Earth, so make it worth every second.
Second: "Fear God and his commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgement, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil."

We've got one shot. Make it worth it.