Thoughts

Solomon begins chapter five with good advice. When coming to the house of God, it's better to listen than to run your mouth (as my dad would say). Actually, that's good advice in most situations, don't you think? You can't learn much when you're speaking. But when coming before the Lord, listening will always be more beneficial than speaking.

And then Solomon went on to talk about the fact that money will never buy happiness. In fact, the more money you have, the more worries you have, according to Solomon. He said, the best thing is to eat, drink and enjoy the work you have. 

At this point, Solomon, in all his wisdom, is forgetting something very important. He's looking at life from a very limited viewpoint. He's looking at life almost as one who has no relationship with God. When you leave God out of the equation, it's very easy to have a fatalistic view of the world. We'll get into this in more detail when we get to chapter 8. But for now, I'll just say that the deeper your relationship with God, the more meaning you find in life. There is a reason you're here, if you are His. He has a purpose for your life. You matter. 

One of the saddest things in scripture, in my opinion, is in chapter 6, verses 3-6. "3You may live a long time and have a hundred children. But a child born dead is better off than you, unless you enjoy life and have a decent burial. 4-5That child will never live to see the sun or to have a name, and it will go straight to the world of darkness. But it will still find more rest than you, 6even if you live two thousand years and don't enjoy life. As you know, we all end up in the same place."

Isn't that pathetic? "A child born dead is better off than you, unless you enjoy life and have a decent burial." Reminds me of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.

I told you as we began this book that it's important to hang in there until the end. We'll have three more visits to Ecclesiastes. We're halfway through. It does get better. 

But before I sign off today, let me again encourage you with the thought that in Christ, life is full of meaning. If you're looking for meaning outside of Him, you're looking in all the wrong places, as the song says. If you want to have eternal meaning, it is only in Jesus. 

Today's Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 5 ERV, Ch. 6 CEV

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