12/15/2023 0 Comments Undistracted by materialistic![]() ![]() This also is a grievous evil-exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on? The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep. When good things increase, those who consume them increase. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. ![]() “If you want to enjoy the beauty that is life, if you want to get the most out of it, if you want to revel in its significance, don’t focus on stuff.” It’s the distraction of money, riches, materialism. And the distraction he’s going to warn us about is as enticing as it is perennial. Don’t Focus On StuffĪs I said, the Teacher begins with a warning. He’s going to, first, telling us what not to focus on before, second, pointing us toward the work of art that demands our attention. In Ecclesiastes 5, the Teacher is going to help us avoid the “museum fatigue” of life so that we can better enjoy its beauty. But distractions are always lurking, threatening to pull our attention away from what really matters, truly fulfills, and eternally satisfies. Life, as God has given it to each of us, is a gracious gift, a thing of beauty. In other words: beauty is best enjoyed when there’s nothing around to steal attention away from where it’s supposed to be fixed. A 2017 study vindicated that logic as it found that “appreciating beauty takes conscious thought-and therefore, distracting a person can prevent them from fully taking in the work of art before them.” The rationale for such simplicity of presentation was to help patrons avoid “museum fatigue” caused by over-stimulation. Yet, if you’ve ever seen it (whether in-person or in photos) you’ll know it’s hanging on a plain wall in a mostly-empty room. Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa is one of the world’s most famous paintings. NOTE: This sermon was originally preached at Stone Ridge Bible Chapel in Hamilton, Ontario. A 2017 study vindicated that logic as it found that “appreciating beauty takes conscious thought-and therefore, distracting a person can prevent them from fully taking in the work of art before them.” In other words: beauty is best enjoyed when there’s nothing around to steal attention away from where it’s supposed to be fixed. Dialectical Anthropology is committed to reaching beyond an Anglophone readership via submissions, dialogue and active participation in languages other than English, and an editorial policy that promotes collaborations beyond the traditional concerns of Western academics.Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa is one of the world’s most famous paintings. For three decades, the pages of the journal have provided space for comment, criticism, agreement, and disagreement about significant issues of our times. Since its founding by Stanley Diamond 1975, Dialectical Anthropology has been dedicated to the transformation of class society through internationalizing conversations about the stakes of contemporary crises and the means for social change. We provide a forum for work with a pronounced dialectical approach to social theory and political practice for scholars and activists working in Marxist and broadly political-economic traditions, and those who wish to be in dialogue or debate with these traditions. Dialectical Anthropology is an international journal that seeks to invigorate discussion among left intellectuals by publishing peer-reviewed articles, editorials, letters, reports from the field, political exchanges, and book reviews that foster open debate through criticism, research and commentary from across the social sciences and humanities.
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