Living a Life That Matters: Lessons from Solomon the Man Who Tried Everything (invert) - Softcover

Lyon, Chris; Matlock, Mark; Bundschuh, Rick

 
9780310258162: Living a Life That Matters: Lessons from Solomon the Man Who Tried Everything (invert)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0310258162 ISBN 13: 9780310258162
Verlag: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

Money. Fame. Relationships. Knowledge. Having all these things―or even one―would make you happy, right? Well, maybe for a second. At least that’s what King Solomon learned―and he tried all those things on a HUGE scale and still wasn’t content. In fact, chasing those ideas and getting what he wanted actually made him more depressed. So what are we supposed to do if the wisest man in history couldn’t make those things work? Thankfully, Solomon left us a whole book of his trials and errors.

Maybe you’ve looked at other people’s lives and thought, “If only I had that, my life would be perfect.” The problem is, those same people are asking the same question when they come across someone else. Even the wisest man in the world, Solomon, struggled with it. In Living a Life that Matters, author and “wisdom expert” Mark Matlock unpacks Solomon’s big “If only” questions on happiness in the book of Ecclesiastes to connect his timeless questions to yours, and explores what really makes a perfect life. Living a Life That Matters lets you gaze over Solomon’s shoulder as he indulges every pleasure, exercises every power, and emerges with a radical conclusion about how to live. You’ll also find ways that his search for meaning connects with yours today and how your story can connect with your friends’ as they seek meaning in the world.

Living a Life that Matters:

  • makes the book of Ecclesiastes relevant to teens’ lives―and also easy to understand
  • contains contemporary examples from pop culture and everyday life
  • explores what it means to live in the world today, as well as the real issue of depression and its effects

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mark Matlock has been working with youth pastors, students, and parents for more than two decades. He’s the Executive director of Youth Specialties and founder of WisdomWorks Ministries and PlanetWisdom. He’s the author of several books including The Wisdom On series, Living a Life That Matters, Don’t Buy the Lie, and Raising Wise Children. Mark lives in Texas with his wife, Jade, and their two teenage children.

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FILL IN THE BLANK: MY LIFE WOULD BE MEANINGFUL IF__________________.

People have all kinds of ways to fill in that blank. Some want more money. Some more
influence. Others more pleasure. The point is we want MORE. But is that enough? Does
devouring everything the world has to offer lead to satisfaction?

In the Bible, the book of Ecclesiastes describes someone who tried to answer that
question. Whether it was sex, drugs, money, power, food, relationships, or knowledge,
King Solomon of Israel tried it all--and documented what he discovered in his search for
purpose in his life.

Living a Life That Matters lets you gaze over Solomon's shoulder as he indulges every
pleasure, exercises every power, and emerges with a radical conclusion about how to live. You'll find ways that his search for meaning connects with yours and how your story can connect with your friends' as they seek meaning in the world.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Living a Life that Matters: Lessons from Solomon - the man who tried everythingTOO MUCH IS NEVER ENOUGHWhat if you could have it all?Money. Power. Love. Sex. Respect. Popularity.Absolutely anything you want. Many of us spendour lives wishing for that very scenario---or at leastimagining what it would be like. But not many ofus get there.Mel Gibson got there.Once an unknown Australian actor, Gibson gothis fi rst big break starring in the cult classic Mad Maxwhen he was twenty-three. More big roles followedin blockbusters such as the Lethal Weapon series,Maverick, Ransom, Conspiracy Theory, Payback,What Women Want and Signs. As his internationalstardom grew, so did his bank account. He is nowone of the top-paid actors in the world. For everymovie he stars in, he now gets $25 million.But acting wasn't enough for him. In 1993 hestepped behind the camera to direct The Man Withouta Face. Two years later he earned two AcademyAwards for directing and producing Braveheart.Gibson's success didn't stop with his career. He's been marriedto the same woman for 25 years, and they have seven kidstogether. People magazine named him the Sexiest Man Alive.Premiere magazine listed him as one of the most powerful peoplein Hollywood.Worldwide fame. Unlimited riches. True love. Fatherhood.Widespread respect for his talent. International renown for hissexual appeal. Virtually limitless power in his career. Rarely doesone man get so much in one lifetime.Mel Gibson had it all. So he must have been the happiestman on the planet, right? He had the power to do almost anythinghe wanted. The money to buy almost anything he couldimagine. Almost nothing was out of reach for him.Yet Gibson felt something was missing. All that he had wasn'tenough for him. So he added some new experiences to the mix.'I would get addicted to anything,' he admits. 'Anything at all,okay? Drugs, booze, anything. You name it. Coffee, cigarettes.Sometimes I used to drive inebriated. I mean, this is the height ofcareless stupidity. Done a lot of things I'm not proud of.'Eventually Gibson sought treatment for his addictions. Butafter getting clean and sober, he found himself right back wherehe had started: with an emptiness in his life.'I just didn't want to go on.'Th at's what he told Diane Sawyer in an interview on ABC'sPrimetime Live. All of his personal success had brought him to aplace where the most appealing option to him was to jump out awindow and end it all.'You know, I was looking down thinking, man, this is justeasier this way,' he said. 'I don't know, you have to be mad, youhave to be insane to despair in that way. But that is the height ofspiritual bankruptcy. There's nothing left.'NOTHING WORKSIf Mel Gibson had made that jump---if he'd killed himself at theheight of his success---he would have joined a list of well-knownpeople who 'got it all' and then decided it wasn't enough. Oneof the best known is Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. He and his bandturned the music world upside down in the early 1990s withwhat became known as grunge music. They enjoyed enormoussuccess with critics and music lovers alike. Despite that success,Cobain refused to become a corporate icon and stayed true to his'slacker' roots. And a generation of fans loved him for it.Worldwide fame. Big money. Artistic respect. Influentialpower. Love (Courtney that is). Integrity. Fatherhood. Drugs.Alcohol. Sex. Kurt Cobain had it all. But all of it wasn't enoughto help him overcome his lifelong battle with depression, addiction,and chronic pain. In fact, some people who knew him saidhaving it all might have made things worse. Eventually, he justcouldn't enjoy any of it.A note he had written shortly before his apparent suicideoff ered some clues about the burden his success had become:'I've tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do,God, believe me I do, but it's not enough).... I need to be slightlynumb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.'Later he wrote, 'I don't have the passion anymore, and so remember,it's better to burn out than to fade away.'Trent Reznor knows what it's like to have it all, too. The worldfamousfront man for the band Nine Inch Nails is respected byfans of industrial metal music for honestly expressing his rage anddespair at life's injustice and emptiness. Reznor's lyrics describehis sometimes shocking, usually depressing, views on everythingfrom relationships to sex to religion to love.Worldwide fame. Big money. Love from black-clad fans andmusic critics. Power. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. Reznor has almost everythinganyone could possibly want out of life. And here's whathe said about it: 'It didn't make sense...nothing brought me joy.After I got everything I ever wanted, I was ****ing worse off thanI was before.'Something's not adding up here, is it?If getting everything life has to offer doesn't bring happinessor peace or joy, what's the point of living? That's the question MelGibson, Kurt Cobain, and Trent Reznor---as well as countlessother rich and successful people---came face to face with. Thoseguys got to a place most of us never will. They made their fantasiesreality. They indulged in everything life has to off er---alcohol,drugs, sex, art. You name it, they tried it.And what conclusion did they reach? Nothing satisfies. Notin the long run, at least. Not in a way that matters.They weren't the fi rst guys to reach that depressing conclusion.In fact the viewpoint is as ancient as the Old Testament. Apoet-king named Solomon reached the same conclusion aboutlife on earth 3,000 years ago. In a book called Ecclesiastes, hespells out everything he tried in his quest for meaning in thislife---and how all of it left him feeling empty. Like Mel and Kurtand Trent, he desperately wanted to find something that broughthim satisfaction.Maybe you're beginning a similar quest yourself. Most peopledo, especially when they're young. One thing these searchesall have in common is that they contain the word if. 'I would be happy if...''I could be satisfied if...''I could get past this emptiness and depression if...'The list of things people assume will fi ll the holes in theirlives is long and wildly varied, but here are a few of the mostcommon:'I would be happy if...* I had a boyfriend or girlfriend.'* I could have sex.'* I could have lots of fantastic sex.'* I could be free from my parents.'* I could have a close and loving family.'* I could get married and have kids.'* I could get my parents to love me.'* I could get my parents to love each other.'* I had enough money to be comfortable.'* I had enough money to get everything I want.'* I could get into the college I want.'* I were smarter.'* I were faster, stronger, and more athletic.'How many people do you know who are trying to find meaningor satisfaction in one or more of those areas? How many peopledo you know who are convinced that money, good grades, a boyfriend,sex, popularity, a future, or a good reputation will maketheir lives complete? How many people do you know who arelooking for something worth living for?

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Verlag
Zondervan Publishing Company
Erscheinungsdatum
2005
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0310258162
ISBN 13 
9780310258162
Einband
Tapa blanda
Anzahl der Seiten
174
Kontakt zum Hersteller
BETANIA
https://harpercollins.co.uk/

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