Eccl 2:10-11
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
There was a show on the History channel called Life After People. It speculated on what would happen to the earth if suddenly all the people disappeared. How long would it take for the Sears Tower in Chicago to crumble? The Hoover Dam? The Eiffel Tower in Paris? The Statue of Liberty? How long would it take before there are no traces of people on the planet? It was a very interesting show, but also quite unsettling. It put into perspective just how insignificant human accomplishments are. Plants and animals would thrive without humans disrupting or polluting their habitat. After a few thousand years, there would be no evidence of anything humans have achieved.
Reading Ecclesiastes made me think of Life After People. Solomon had it all: riches, wisdom, wives, servants, a palace. Every material desire was at his fingertips. Yet he writes "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." (Eccl 1:14) If Solomon's accomplishments and possessions meant nothing, how much less is anything of ours?!
Even though Solomon spent much of Ecclesiastes reflecting on how meaningless life is, you will run across passages where he shows that he really did understand what life was all about. Eccl 5:18-20 says: "Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." Our time on earth is a gift from God and He will make our hearts glad.
We would be in big trouble if it was up to us to create meaning for ourselves. We can't earn enough money, we can't buy enough stuff, we can't discover enough unknowns, we can't gain enough wisdom to feel truly fulfilled. Our lives and accomplishments are meaningless... but thankfully that's not all there is to it. C.S. Lewis wrote: "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world." There is a God who created us and loves us and He is the one who gives us meaning. Ecclesiastes paints a picture of what life would be like without God. Life would be meaningless. Thankfully, He is greater than anything we could accomplish for ourselves and He will never let us go.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
There was a show on the History channel called Life After People. It speculated on what would happen to the earth if suddenly all the people disappeared. How long would it take for the Sears Tower in Chicago to crumble? The Hoover Dam? The Eiffel Tower in Paris? The Statue of Liberty? How long would it take before there are no traces of people on the planet? It was a very interesting show, but also quite unsettling. It put into perspective just how insignificant human accomplishments are. Plants and animals would thrive without humans disrupting or polluting their habitat. After a few thousand years, there would be no evidence of anything humans have achieved.
Reading Ecclesiastes made me think of Life After People. Solomon had it all: riches, wisdom, wives, servants, a palace. Every material desire was at his fingertips. Yet he writes "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." (Eccl 1:14) If Solomon's accomplishments and possessions meant nothing, how much less is anything of ours?!
Even though Solomon spent much of Ecclesiastes reflecting on how meaningless life is, you will run across passages where he shows that he really did understand what life was all about. Eccl 5:18-20 says: "Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." Our time on earth is a gift from God and He will make our hearts glad.
We would be in big trouble if it was up to us to create meaning for ourselves. We can't earn enough money, we can't buy enough stuff, we can't discover enough unknowns, we can't gain enough wisdom to feel truly fulfilled. Our lives and accomplishments are meaningless... but thankfully that's not all there is to it. C.S. Lewis wrote: "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world." There is a God who created us and loves us and He is the one who gives us meaning. Ecclesiastes paints a picture of what life would be like without God. Life would be meaningless. Thankfully, He is greater than anything we could accomplish for ourselves and He will never let us go.
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