Daily Devotional for Tuesday, November 4

Nothing New Under the Sun

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun,” Ecclesiastes 1:9.

Philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We all get that. It means that when we forget past mistakes, we will repeat them forever. History teaches us that humanity tends to do this; we forget what we messed up before and keep doing it. The history of warfare throughout history is a great example. History clearly shows the price war places on humanity; yet, we persist in engaging in them. World War II was called the war to end all wars, but that conflict did not represent the end of war. We just got better and more efficient at it.

The writer said there is nothing new under the sun. Things that seem new are not new; they are just things we have forgotten. Why are we this way? Why do humans do the same stupid things over and over? The Israelites are a great example. Dozens of times, God told them to remember the times He had been there for them, and dozens more times, the nation slipped into idolatry, rebellion and disobedience. Why? Why are we that way?

Humans continue to live in the sins of their past because they like them. The associated pleasure makes sin appealing, so we repeat those mistakes. We do the same stupid thing repeatedly because we honestly think we will be the one person to do it and not produce results.

The primary reason humans never change is because most humans do not know Jesus. Only Jesus can produce lasting, permanent change in any human heart. Only Jesus can change history, and only Jesus can change the future. Are you pining about how things never change, or are you turning to Jesus to change them?

JUST A THOUGHT

Sometimes, we live in the past because we like our lifestyles from the past.

Wally Fry