God still values the monotony of everyday affairs.
日常单调的事务，上帝仍然看重。
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again.Ecclesiastes 1:9已有的事，后必再有；已行的事，后必再行。-传道书1章9节
I was intrigued when I noticed a tattoo of a bowling ball knocking down pins on my friend Erin’s ankle. Erin was inspired to get this unique tattoo after listening to Sara Groves’s song, “Setting Up the Pins.” The clever lyrics encourage listeners to find joy in the repetitive, routine tasks that sometimes feel as pointless as manually setting up bowling pins over and over again, only to have someone knock them down.
朋友艾琳的脚踝上有个保龄球击倒球瓶的刺青，令我感到好奇。艾琳说，她这刺青的灵感是来自莎拉·格洛芙斯（Sara Groves）的一首歌。这首歌俏皮的歌词鼓励人从重复的日常事务中找到乐趣，因这些事常让人觉得很没意义，就像是一次又一次把保龄球瓶摆好，只为了把这些球瓶打倒而已。
Laundry. Cooking. Mowing the lawn. Life seems full of tasks that, once completed, have to be done again—and again. This isn’t a new struggle but an old frustration, one wrestled with in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. The book opens with the writer complaining about the endless cycles of daily human life as futile (1:2–3), even meaningless, because “what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again” (v. 9).
洗衣、打扫、煮饭、处理垃圾⋯⋯生活中充满了这些杂务，就算完成了，也还得继续一做再做。这不是现代人才会碰到的难处，而是自古以来就有的困境。旧约圣经传道书就提到，人在这困境中苦苦挣扎。作者一开始就抱怨说，日常生活无止尽的循环，空虚且毫无益处（1章2-3节），因为“已有的事，后必再有；已行的事，后必再行”（9节）。
Yet, like my friend, the writer was able to regain a sense of joy and meaning by remembering our ultimate fulfillment comes as we “fear [reverence] God and keep his commandments” (12:13). There’s comfort in knowing that God values even the ordinary, seemingly mundane aspects of life and will reward our faithfulness (v. 14).
然而，传道书的作者因“敬畏上帝，谨守祂的诫命”（12章13节），重新得着喜乐和生命意义，我的朋友也是如此。令人欣慰的是，上帝珍视我们生活中各种事务，甚至单调乏味的服事，我们的忠心必得着上帝的奖赏（14节）。
What are the “pins” you’re continually setting up? In those times when repetitive tasks begin to feel tiring, may we take a moment to offer each task to God as an offering of love.
你生活中必须一再摆好的“球瓶”是什么呢？当这些重复单调的事务让我们感到倦怠时，愿我们能花一点时间将大小事务都献给上帝，让我们因着爱的激励为祂而做。
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving value to the ordinary activities of life. Help us to find joy in the tasks before us today.
天父，感谢祢看重我们生活中平凡无奇的事务。求祢帮助我们，在今天所面对的各项事务中得着喜乐。

Ecclesiastes 1:3-11   NIV

1 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go,but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets,and hurries back to where it rises. 6
 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north;

round and round it goes,ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,yet the sea is never full.To the place the streams come from,there they return again. 8 All things are wearisome,more than one can say.The eye never has enough of seeing,nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9 What has been will be again,what has been done will be done again;there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one can say,“Look! This is something new”?It was here already, long ago;it was here before our time. 11 No one remembers the former generations,and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

传道书 1:3-11

1 人一切的劳碌，就是他在日光之下的劳碌，有什么益处呢？ 4 一代过去，一代又来，地却永远长存。 5 日头出来，日头落下，急归所出之地。 6 风往南刮，又向北转，不住地旋转，而且返回转行原道。 7 江河都往海里流，海却不满；江河从何处流，仍归还何处。 8 万事令人厌烦，人不能说尽。眼看，看不饱；耳听，听不足。 9 已有的事后必再有，已行的事后必再行，日光之下并无新事。 10 岂有一件事人能指着说“这是新的”？哪知，在我们以前的世代早已有了。 11 已过的世代无人记念，将来的世代后来的人也不记念。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

One of the key themes of Ecclesiastes is found in the phrase “under the sun.” It’s found in today’s reading in verses 3 and 9, as well as twenty-seven other times in the book. What does it mean? It refers to that which is done on earth according to the system, values, and mindset of this world. It sets what happens “under the sun” in contrast to that which is rooted in and resonates with the heart of heaven. Since Ecclesiastes is a book of despair, the point is that we don’t find true meaning or purpose until we begin to live according to the heart of our Father in heaven, as opposed to the broken systems of this world.
传道书的一个核心主旨，正可用“日光之下”这句话表明出来。在今天的阅读经文中，这句话出现在第3节和第9节，在本书其他地方还出现了27次。这句话有什么含意呢？这乃是指，根据这世界的制度、价值观和思维模式在世上所做的一切事。这里对照了“在日光之下”所发生的事，还有以天国为基础价值的事。传道书充满了消极悲观的论调，但其要旨是教导我们，若要找到人生真正的意义或目的，就要开始学习按照天父的心意去生活，而不是按照这个世界已被破坏的体系去生活。

编辑：Sarah
校对：Snow
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