'I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives...'And so King Solomon set off to find meaning in experience and gain, undertaking 'great projects', and living to absolute excess with as many possessions, wives, concubines, properties, slaves, herds and flocks as he could amass. He denied himself nothing his eyes desired.
But he reached the end of his life, and looked back and found no fulfillment, worth or happiness in his gains and achievements. It was fleeting and a chasing after the wind.
The Present, The Future~
What stood out to me about Chapter 2, was the idea of present and future. Solomon worked to get as much as he could, thinking that in the future he'd be happy with it all. Keep going, and there will be fulfillment one day. But he looked back in hindsight, and there was none.
In the middle of the chapter he touches on a different perspective, and the idea of the present-
'My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.'(v.10b)
He seems to say that enjoying the work, enjoying the labour and toil, now- that is the reward in itself. The joy comes from living in the present, finding meaning in the moment, rather than thinking that the toil will bring some kind of future fulfillment and meaning by our gains.
Dependant, But Joyful~
So how do you enjoy the present, and find joy in the toil? Maybe it's about not thinking of life as getting, and achieving and gaining, but as receiving. It's about handing over the power (or more accurately recognising that we never had it to begin with) and just receiving every moment as a gift from God the provider. Letting Him be the Father, who feeds His little children, and gives them everything they need.
'A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?'(v.24-5)
This is not shallow decadence, but rather recognising our dependence. we are like the little sparrows that God feeds. Maybe this is why Jesus says we must be like little children if we want to enter the Kingdom. Dependant, but joyful before the Provider, for each moment, each mouthful, each breath.
4 comments:
"What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?" (2.22)
'Anxious striving' sums up so much of what we do, doesn't it?
Good stuff.
Definitely. It's like the default setting for how we are when we try to do it all ourselves.
I relate well to v 10b as I'm one of those doer / creator types - never happier than when I'm making / doing something. I get satisfaction out of both achieving the final goal of the activity and the work to get there provided I'm capable of doing it and not blocked from doing it.
I'd love to reno a house - I can see myself enjoying the final product for a while but then wanting to 'play' with another one. Perhaps this is why I also like gardening - I get to 'play' every season.
The worst jobs for me are the ones where I don't have anything to do or I can't do it for some reason (waiting for input from others / haven't been shown/told what to do or where/what the necessary things are to do it).
yeah, it can feel very 'right' to express yourself fully with the gifts/interests/passions God has wired into you..
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