Meaningless or Meaningful? Eccl. 1-2

May the mumbling commence!

And now for something completely different…  Today, we leave behind the teachings of Proverbs to begin our journey into the book of Ecclesiastes.  Talk about a new view point!  While Proverbs seems to have the eternal optimism of youth, Ecclesiastes has the eternal jaded, pessimistic view of the aged.  This “the cup is half empty” viewpoint is apparent even in the first couple of chapters of Ecclesiastes.  The recurring theme is: “everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  Talk about fatalistic!  Read some passages from the first two chapters:

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.  I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heaven.  What a heavy burden God has laid on men!  I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (1:12-14)

            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 new under the sun.  (2:10-11)

            The wise man has eyes in his head,

                        while the fool walks in darkness;

            but I came to realize

                        that the same fate overtakes them both.  (2:14)

            “The fate of the fool will overtake me also.

                        What then do I gain by being wise?”

            Then I thought in my heart,

                        “This too is meaningless.”

            For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;

                        in days to come both will be forgotten.

            Like the fool, the wise man too must die! (2:15b-16)

Talk about having the blues!  The wise may accumulate wealth and honor, but even the wise cannot take it with them.  It may go to a fool.  Where is the thought of the inheritance of the children of a wise man?  Did Solomon anticipate the foolishness of the son who would take the throne after his time was over?  It is possible.  Did Solomon fear that his sins would be strengthened in his sons?  It is likely. 

So, in the grand scheme of things, what can a man really accomplish?  Indeed, with this point of view, everything does seem meaningless.  Try and get pleasure from your life’s work.  To do so is to receive the greatest gift God has to offer toiling humanity.

I give thanks for the work of God through Jesus Christ.  Though we cannot accomplish anything of worth on our own, we can accept the even greater gift of the Holy Spirit.  With the Holy Spirit, the meaningless becomes meaningful.  God is the great Overcomer.  All our hope lies in God.  And this hope will never die.

Being a pawn for God has more meaning than all human occupations combined.  Work through us we pray…

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out