Book Group: Ecclesiastes Ch.4

Read the chapter here.

There's something amazingly modern and relevant about v.6-8:

6 Better one handful with tranquillity
than two handfuls with toil
and chasing after the wind.

7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
"For whom am I toiling," he asked,
"and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!

Work can control your life, and the desire to get more money. You don't want to be rich necessarily, just comfortable. Am I content now? Well, nearly; if I could just get $--- much more, to be able to afford ----, well then I would be content. Life would be easier, not such a struggle, and so obviously I would be happier as a result.

But this passage, written by someone who's been there says the opposite. He never reached contentment or happiness through what he achieved and gained. No matter what rung he climbed to, he never reached a point of satisfaction.

He concluded that you're happier with one handful than two. You are renting a little place in an okay suburb, but now your work hours can be a bit less and there's time to spend with your family on the weekend.

That other place was bigger, and newer, and in a cooler suburb. It had an awesome yard. But to be able to afford it, you'd be so stressed trying to keep your head above water. You'd be working overtime. You'd be working weekends. You'd lose time with your family, and gradually the strain would build rifts. You're working to afford stuff you'll have no time to enjoy.

The rich man stopped and realised he was alone with his wealth-- My hard work meant I could buy this yacht, but my wife's gone, and now I just sit alone on the deck on weekends, drinking my very expensive beer.

For whom am I toiling?