When the Faucet Breaks
by Oliver Carlos
One day, a wayward ball hit our garden faucet. Because it was made of plastic, the faucet broke. It got completely detached from its base! Water started to gush out uncontrollably. I rushed to the main valve outside the gate and turned it off. Only then did the water stopped coming out of the broken faucet.
I then went out to buy a new faucet at the hardware store. While I was away, my family didn’t have water for about an hour or so, until I returned. I bought a heavy-duty faucet, it’s made of metal, so it will last long. I did the installation myself and I felt good about myself for fixing this problem.
In the Bible times, when the faucet was not yet invented, people got their drinking water from springs and wells. People back then would fetch water in what looked like a wishing well. If you remember your old nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill,” their wells were pretty much the same. There was a pulley, or a wheel-like assembly that brings a large earthen jar similar to a bucket, up and down the well. This was mentioned in Ecclesiastes 12:6 (NLT):
“Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, …. Don’t wait until the…pulley is broken at the well.”
This chapter in Ecclesiastes is very interesting to interpret. If you were a poet like me, you would admire the author’s use of everyday life objects as symbols to explain a very profound truth. Ecclesiastes 12 talks about getting old, reaching the senior years and preparing for one’s twilight years. It described the failing of one’s body, and the fading away of health. It mentioned about losing sight, hearing, teeth, black hair, sexual desire, and physical strength. Towards the end, it mentioned the “pulley” at the well that is broken. What could this be?
I believe this is the human heart. If water is the lifeline of our house, meaning, without water we can’t cook, wash the dishes, take a bath and so many more activities would be impossible to do, then, in the same way, blood is our body’s lifeline. Our blood keeps us alive. We learned in elementary science class the function of the heart and the circulatory system. The heart pumps blood and distributes it to all the other parts of the body. When the heart stops beating, blood will cease to circulate, and then death comes. There’s no more heart to “fetch” blood and bring it to the cells of your body. Similarly, when the pulley at the well is broken, you cannot fetch water up anymore. Thus, verse 6 simply means death, the time when our hearts would function no more.
In our time, there are so many “pulley” breakers, or heart-stoppers. We live in an age when unhealthy lifestyle is one of the major killers in society. The unhealthy food we eat, combined with a sedentary work, lack of exercise, and everyday mental and emotional stress all contribute to heart attack or stroke. What should we do then?
Since we have identified that the issue is lifestyle-related, then we should change our lifestyle. That’s easier said than done, as lifestyles are hard to change. But we should at least move one little step per day towards the right direction. Let us take care of our heart, don’t wait for it to break like the pulley at the well.
Lastly, don’t forget the author’s advice. Solomon, in his conclusion, pointed out the most important thing in life. He urged his readers to “remember your Creator now while you are young.” Aside from taking good care of our physical health by cultivating a healthy lifestyle, let us also establish and cultivate a healthy personal relationship with God. Invite his presence in your every activity. Enjoy the wisdom, love, and simple joys he gives you every day.
Life is short. A life lived without God is tragic. So let us enjoy each day of our life, enjoy it with God, not without God. Invite him as your companion, beginning today, until forevermore.
