THE BETTER LIFE, LIVED UNDER THE SON

“That Which Gives Work Meaning”
Ecclesiastes 2:12-23
Bob Bonner
December 6, 1998

Eighteen months ago, God challenged my heart with a major lesson that I needed to learn. For the purpose of learning the lesson, there was the typical trial that usually precedes such lessons. With that trial, I became really angry and frustrated with God and frustrated with His call upon my life to ministry. For those of you who have been here for four or more years, you might remember what was taking place in the life of this church family and hence, be able to relate a little more with this event.

At the time, we were at what looked like a major turning point in our ministry. The leaders that God had raised up and equipped in this church family were in place and building into the lives of others. We were ready to move to another level in equipping saints for the ministry and calling the world to worship and follow Jesus Christ. We were ready to begin a serious intern-like training program that would equip those ready to take on future ministry leadership positions, not just in this fellowship but wherever God would have them be. 

Then, almost like a plague, God decided to remove from our midst 1/3 of our leadership and transplant them in places like Washington, Gold Beach, Modesto, Salem, Portland, Eugene, etc. We are talking about key worship team leaders, deacons and elders, and heads of key ministries like AWANA and MOPS.

As a result of God removing these key leaders from us, I threw my hands up in the air and said to Jesus, “What gives!? Here I am, pouring my heart and soul into this work for you, and you keep dismantling this ministry. Lord, if you don’t give me a clue as to what you are doing here, I will quit!”

Let me tell you, that was a stupid thing for me to say to our Sovereign God; but in His mercy and longsuffering, He put up with me and didn’t clean my clock.

Instead, He caused me to take a good hard look at my life and why I was doing what I was doing in my work. 

What we are about to learn from God’s Word this morning applies to every form of work in which you may be involved, whether it be volunteer work or work that is mandatory such as school work, a paying job, or the mundane upkeep of a home. The truth God taught me from our passage of study that we will be looking at this morning covers all work in which we invest our lives.

At that time in my life, I just happened to be reading through the Bible in a year and came to the beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes. I was off for the week at a pastor’s prayer renewal week so I had a lot of time to listen to the Lord as He spoke to my heart through his Word. In essence He was saying to me, “Read Ecclesiastes, the answer you are looking for is right there.” So, I read Ecclesiastes, but no answer. So I said, “Lord, I read it, I but didn’t find the answer.” The Lord said, “Read it again.” So, I read it again with the same result. Again, the Lord said, “Read it one more time.” The third time the light went on.

As I was reading these first two chapters, the Lord kept pressing my heart to investigate why I was serving Him in ministry here. In essence, after thinking it through carefully, I told Him, “Lord, my goal for serving you here is that one day when I leave this earth and go home to be with you, if you don’t come first, I want to look back and see a family of believers who are deeply in love with you, surrounded by godly male and female shepherds who are listening to your voice as you lead this fellowship. I hope to see a church family whose foundation is not built on one man’s ministry but is built upon the rock of Jesus Christ; a ministry whereby the leadership humbly seeks the Lord’s agenda, and a leadership that reflects men and women who have the same servant’s heart that Jesus had. I hope to see a ministry that will endure until Jesus comes, even if it takes another 1,000 years.”

In other words, I wanted to see a product of my efforts that will continue on after I am dead that has eternal results. But then I read these selective verses from chapter 1. They read, “What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever....There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.” 

Then over in chapter 3, I read these famous verses that we will look more closely at in weeks to come. And they read, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build.” Basically, Solomon is telling us that nothing in this world will last forever. Who we are and all that has been done by us will soon be forgotten. No business or human enterprise or practice or job or corporation or ministry or country or political regime or local church family will continue forever on planet earth. Every project that we give our lives, time, energy, creativity or talents to will one day come to an end. It will die. It may pop up again in some other form, like the previous church that existed here was Calvary Baptist Church. That church family died. That church closed its doors. But God decided to bring to life a new church family in its place. One day I believe that Calvary Crossroads Church, will no longer exist as we know it. I hope Jesus comes before that time, but it is possible that one day, like the New Testament church at Ephesus, Crossroads will no longer exist. 

This fact of demise is true of every enterprise in which we humans invest our lives. This conclusion was new to me. I knew I wasn’t into personal kingdom building but I thought that if I invested my life into an enterprise for Jesus that it might last on this earth. But God was clearly saying, “No, that is a wrong assumption.”

This revelation led me to ask the question that the wise man Solomon asked in chapter 3 following those lines that I just read. He asks, “What does the worker gain from his toil?” “God, then why in the world do you have me working so hard, giving my heart and soul to this your local church family? Why should I invest all my energy and strength in anything? A practice, a political campaign, anything? Lord Jesus, what is the purpose behind one’s work in this world, if it is not to produce some long-lasting permanent benefit? Before the Fall, why did you give Adam and Eve the job of looking after the garden? Why work, Lord?” That’s the question we want to answer as we examine our next passage of Scripture, found in Ecclesiastes 2:12-23. 

But for those of you who are just joining us, let me tell you and remind the others, that what you are about to read, the words and perspective of life expressed in these verses, do not come from a man who is walking with God and looking to Him for answers to some of life’s most puzzling questions. In fact, so far in this book, Solomon never gives us God’s point of view on anything until the next section beginning with 2:24. God’s name hasn’t even been mentioned thus far in this book, except in 1:13 in a negative way when Solomon blames God for all the problems in the world.

There is a key phrase that reminds us that in this section of Scripture when Solomon is speaking about a view or philosophy of life, he is speaking as one who has ignored God. He has left God out of the equation of meaning and happiness in life. That phrase is the often repeated phrase, “under the sun.” That one phrase is repeated five times in this one passage that we are looking at this morning.

Also, let’s remember the time in Solomon’s life in which he is writing these words. He is an older man, who has been journaling about his life’s experiences and search for meaning in life. When it comes to human endeavors, he has built a temple, homes, businesses, ranches, vineyards, cities, reservoirs, parks, gardens, forests...  He has been a busy man whom the world admires. He is now evaluating all of his efforts and is asking, “Why did I do all that?” In our passage, Solomon is going to ask three major questions. But before he asks and examines each question, he gives us a hint of where he is going in verse 12. 

This verse is somewhat of an introduction to this passage. In that verse, Solomon states, “Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done?” That is, what improvements can the new king who comes after Solomon add to what Solomon has already completed?

What Solomon means by this question and where he is going with this is spelled out in the next verses. In essence, he wants to answer questions that deal with one’s approach to his work. In other words, he first wants to know “Does it really make a significant difference if I approach my work and apply wisdom to my work rather than approach projects in life with the madness and foolishness that has been practiced by people for centuries?” Then, after answering that question, he asks, “When it is all said and done, what happens to the end product of all of my life’s efforts? Somebody will come after me, a successor. What can be expected, concerning my work, when my successor takes it over?” Then finally, he asks, “What profit is there for me from my life’s work?”

 Let’s look at the first question, “What difference does it make to apply wisdom to one’s life work rather than foolishness?” In verses 13-14a, Solomon looks at the outcome as it relates to one’s temporal life here on earth. He says, “I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness.”

In essence, Solomon tells us that as it concerns our temporal lives lived out here on earth, applying wisdom to one’s work over applying foolishness makes a difference. Just as it makes it easier for someone to traverse a strange room in the light than it does in darkness, just as it makes it easier to traverse a strange room with eyes that can see rather than with eyes that are blind, so it is better to follow the path of wisdom in all things, including our work here on earth. Wisdom let’s you know when to duck, dodge, avoid or prepare for disaster.

Later in this same book Solomon tells us that with applying wisdom to your chores you will have success (10:10). Practicing godly wisdom in this life preserves and brings better protection (7:12). Wisdom gives strength (7:19) and joy (8:1). Political abilities to deliver cities from danger requires godly wisdom (9:15)  So, while we are alive on this earth, seeking to apply proven wisdom to life’s work and other situations does make a difference.

However, that’s only part of the story. In the rest of verses 14-16 we get the rest of the story. Here we read, “But I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. [in context of verses16 -21 that fate common to both the wise and the foolish is death] Then I thought in my heart, ‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said in my heart, ‘This too is meaningless.’”

In those verses Solomon is saying that in the long run practicing wisdom makes no difference when your end comes because you are still going to die. Being wise and practicing wisdom cannot prevent the ultimate certainty: death. I can’t help but remind you here of one of those bumper stickers that reads, “The one who dies with the most toys wins!” For a while in Southern California you would see that bumper sticker everywhere. But today, the clearer truth is being read on a corrected bumper sticker. It reads, “The one who dies with the most toys still dies!” Leaving one with the obvious question, “And then what?!”

In verse 16, Solomon adds something else to the ultimate outcome of applying wisdom to one’s life. He declares, “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!” (That which gives work meaning).  Here we work and slave to make an impact on our society, we want to make a difference in our world, only to be told that what we have done and who we are will be forgotten. What better example of this than one of the famous Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids. The pharaohs of Egypt used their wealth and power to have those monuments built and erected for themselves for two reasons: first, they believed in reincarnation and they wanted all their wealth and possessions to be nearby when they returned to life. They sealed their tombs with booby traps so that no one could come and steal their wealth before they returned. 

But there was a second reason for building these tombs. Just in case they were wrong about reincarnation they did not want to be forgotten, so these pyramids would act has huge monuments or gravestones to mark their lives. Did their attempts to be remembered work? Can anyone in this room point to a specific pyramid and with certainty tell us which Pharaoh was entombed there? I doubt it. Only a few ancient history buffs are able to even name who the Pharaohs were, let alone which ones were buried in which tomb. Yet, their tombs are called one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

You and all you have done will be forgotten. There is an exception to this truth, however. Scripture also teaches that there are only three things that we know here on earth will cross over into eternity future: the souls of people, the truth of God and eternal rewards. All efforts invested in those three things will not be forgotten.

The realization that all of his human efforts will one day be forgotten caused Solomon to dive into somewhat of an emotional tailspin. We see the first sign of this emotional tailspin in the next verse where he concludes the end result of the investment of his life in work that was governed by wisdom, even as good as his wisdom was. He states, in verse 17, “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  That term grievous is the opposite or an antonym of the word for “good” in 2:1. It means the opposite of “worthwhile or profitable.” It is an emotional term that reveals the pain of a loss of a hope, dream or expectation.

Notice that the verb “hated” is in the past tense. That’s important because it reminds us that he didn’t feel this way about his work as he pursued it but at the end of his life when all of his projects had been accomplished.  He looked back at the past and saw that the results were a waste of his time because he would be forgotten along with his accomplishments, and he “hated” or rejected or in his mind trashed the life he had lived because he felt that it was a waste of time, a waste of a life. That realization pained his soul to the max. Furthermore, the rest of his days, he lived with the realization that I wasted my life.

Again, let’s not forget that little phrase, “under the sun.” Solomon at this point in his life is living without God’s eternal perspective on the matter. His is living adrift in the backwash of this world’s wisdom and philosophies which will leave all of us empty. It’s only later that he comes back to the Lord and regains his perspective. In fact, next week when we look at verse 24 we will see the first editor’s positive comment about life “under the Son” or a life lived under the auspice of our Father God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, after realizing that his life, energies, and creativity had been exercised foolishly, Solomon starts to look at the results of all his labor. He looks at all of his accumulated wealth. He looks at his ranch, his vineyards, his forests and gardens, his reservoirs, his palace, the temple, his magnificent collection of rare and beautiful art objects, and he wonders, “What will happen to these things when I am gone? Will anybody take care of them?” And suddenly, another truth about life painfully pierces his soul. Let’s read verses 18-21. He says, “I hated all the things [literally, “all the fruits of his labors”] I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.”

Suddenly the reality of “You can’t take it with you when you die” hits home to Solomon. And now he not only hates his life but he rejects or hates all of the products that he wasted his life building and collecting. Why? Because now, he realizes that he has to turn it over to someone else. He can’t control it from the grave no matter what kind of will or trust he writes, someone else will deal with his possessions and beloved projects.

And try to remember who that person most likely will be. Solomon is an old man at this point and the heir apparent, to whom all of this will be left, is an adult son, Reheboam whom Solomon has watched for years and knows that this is a weak man of character. He knows that his son has not had the dream and the passion for the ventures and projects that his dad had endeavored to complete. This lazy son had not invested his own blood, sweat and tears over the family business. This following realization was now staring Solomon in the face: Someone who really doesn’t share the same passion or value your life’s efforts, will take possession of it.

One author describes it this way: “Get the picture...work, work, work. Think. Compete. Strategize. Plan. Sacrifice. Travel. Worry. Skip vacations. Add hours. Increase responsibility. Scratch the right back. Invest. Save. Risk. Work, work, work! Then, when everything is in place, when all the ducks are in a row, wham!” [Swindoll, p.58] It’s taken away through death and given to another person.

What happens to the ultimate legacy of one who has been successful is being addressed here. Those things that you have worked hard for and saved for will one day be turned over to someone: either the government or your sons or daughters or some other heirs. On this subject one writes, “Let me get painfully personal. I do not care how capable, how competent, how perfectly suited your children may be to continue your dream, there’s something in you they don’t possess and never will possess...your indomitable, innovative spirit. You were the original dreamer, the tough-minded pioneer. You hammered that dream out on the anvil of time. Though you had nothing, you came to something. And no matter how closely you’ve had your children work alongside you, there’s something you’ve got that they lack. And that worries you, right? Part of what they get, they get free. And when you get something for nothing, it breeds irresponsibility, if not in their generation, certainly in the next---your grandchildren. Greed will replace dedication.” [ibid. P.59] 

Boy, was that true in Solomon’s case. His son Rehoboam squandered his father’s wealth and basically, through foolishness, “gave away the farm.” Within the first year after his father’s death, not long after Solomon’s body was cold, it was under Reheboam’s reign that the nation experienced civil war and was divided into the northern and the southern kingdom.

Look at this truth being lived out in our nation today. Our forefathers gave their lives for religious freedom and the right to not have government intervention in all areas of their private lives. By religious freedom, for those of you who don’t realize it, that did not originally mean that you could believe in any god or religion you wanted. It meant that within Christianity, the state could not persecute you for not being a Catholic Christian or a Protestant Christian. People gave their lives, their wealth their careers to found this kind of country. We got it for nothing and look what we have done with it! Our country lacks faith and morals. We want the government to give to us rather than for us to work for ourselves. More and more we find the government creeping into our lives and taking away what many believe to be personal rights. Why? Because we don’t value the same things our forefathers did. We did not shed blood to gain these freedoms and to build this country. It was handed to us on a silver platter and in turn, we have managed what we inherited irresponsibly, hedonistically and greedily.

To bring it home to where you live: some of us have stamp collections, baseball card collections, coin collections, special paintings or pieces of antique furniture that you have been collecting and building since you were kids. But your kids may not enjoy those things. So, when you die, they will sell them for money the first time they get a chance, and simultaneously bury your passion. Like the death of the dream for a nation, you must realize that your passion for a ministry will die shortly after you do, within two generations. If it goes on much longer than that, it won’t be much longer.

That realization drove Solomon to despair. He could do nothing about the inevitable. There was something evil he felt about that. In fact, that is what the word in verse 21 “great misfortune” literally means. These realizations brought on some very dark days for Solomon. 

These dark last hours of Solomon’s life brought on the question, “What then is the profit of my life’s work?” Why have I worked so long and worked so hard? What gain is there in my work if the product, the end result of my work, is going to be wasted? His sad conclusion is given in verses 22-23, “What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.”

Here, King Solomon is looking at his work, that work to which he gave his heart and soul. That work to which he stayed up at night anxiously striving over complaints, lost deliveries, employees strikes, etc. his final word is that it was “meaningless.” What then is the profit of my life’s work, under the sun?  Nothing!

How many entrepreneurs do you know that when they get home at night, if they do, that they really kick back and do nothing but watch TV or read a good book? What success-driven person do you know that leaves all their work at the office or all of their studies at school and gets to bed early every night? Success- driven people barely rest, their minds barely turn off at night to accomplish their goals. And for what? Solomon says, “nothing.” 

What principles concerning our work can we take away from Solomon’s failed experience with working under the sun, without God. What can we learn from his mistakes so that we don’t repeat them? Allow me to point to just three.

From the very beginning of this section we are reminded that the wise man sees that death is coming and lives accordingly; while the fool walks in darkness and is caught unprepared. You can leave this room this morning, through one of two invisible doors: either through the exit marked “the foolish” and ignore all that we have read. Don’t think about death or how it relates to your investment of your life’s work. Just ignore what is about to be said in a moment concerning God’s perspective on work. Do that and you will end up like Solomon, who was unprepared for the inevitable. Looking back at life, hating it and viewing all that you put into it as a waste of time.

Or, you can admit that one day you will die, examine your work in light of what God says is true and choose to exit through the door marked “wisdom” and get the most out of your work by investing your life in that which God considers most important. The choice is yours.

There is another obvious conclusion that we can draw from this study of God’s Word and that is, that if there is any meaning to one’s work, the value of that work is not found in the end product, meaning is found in one’s work.

Well, if I can’t find lasting meaning in looking at a job well done or a product that is helpful to society because the product and the one who produced it will one day both die and be forgotten, then, where do the long term benefits and meaning come from as it regards our work? Answer: Only as we experience and enjoy God’s presence, power, and partnership in the process of our work, does our work take on lasting meaning.

Now you might be thinking, “What in the world does he mean by that?” Allow me to illustrate it for you. When I go for a walk with my wife although my short term goal may be to just get some healthy exercise or it might be to get from point “A” to point “B” that is not the long term value of that walk. It has taken me a long time to learn the following, but it is true. The long term value of going on a walk with my beloved is the joy I receive from being with my wife, talking with her about things that are important to her. Sharing with her her dreams and disappointments, successes and failures, fears and confidence. Furthermore, it is having her there to share in those things that are important to me. It’s the relationship of just being together. I enjoy her partnership and presence and her abilities to help me where I am weak. 

It’s no different than young lovers. Have you ever noticed that your teenage daughter or son can stay on the phone and talk about nothing for hours with their “friend.” Similarly, it’s not so much what I accomplish for the Lord that counts or has lasting meaning; it is enjoying partnership with Jesus. It’s enjoying his presence and sensing his power taking over in my life when I am weak. It is just being with Him in all that I do in life that brings value and meaning to my life.

It’s interesting to note that that is just what the old Westminster Catechism describes as the purpose of human life. It tells us that “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever,” beginning with right now!

So, where does that leave you today? For me, I have learned why it is that I do what I do. God has re-aimed my sights at the most important target, if I want to hit the bulls eye of finding meaning in my work. My efforts are no longer on the product, they are on enjoying Him in the process of producing the product that will bring Him honor, regardless of how the product turns out. What was your target or objective before you came here today as it regards the why behind your work? Why are you going to school? If you didn’t have to go to school and you had to work, then why are you working? After listening to what Solomon has taught us this morning about the meaning of work, do you want to rethink or take aim at another target that will bring more meaning to your life work? If so, what do you want that new target to be? For me, it is to know Him and to enjoy Him and to serve Him along the way. That’s the beginning of wisdom as it concerns the wise investment of my life.

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