Bobservations Column
Pastor Bob Lawrenz
The short sixth chapter in the Book of Ecclesiastes reiterates many of the things King Solomon has already spoken of, but perhaps more pointedly here. The thing Solomon finds common among men is the vanity that pervades humanity, and everything that motivates the human heart.
His insights describe the condition of the masses. They also describe his own condition. All men have the same fate; it’s part of God’s plan. What sorrows, disappointments, or hardships must a man go through before he cries out to God? How much will it take to get mankind to see the futility of the worldly system of living day-to-day. Vanity prevails.
Solomon’s situation itself is perhaps the most troubling of anyone’s. Given all that he could ever want, he does not know how to make a living through work. Make no mistake: his words are as anointed as the Apostle Paul’s, or any other scribe of the Bible. Solomon knows that God is supplying his every need, but Solomon also sees the frustration of the masses, and hence, his own end on earth. It’s all emptiness. To what end is all of life’s effort? That a man should enjoy the fruits of his own labors?
There is a word common to much of scripture that’s absent from the Book of Ecclesiastes. That word is “praise.” It is also missing from The Song of Songs, and used sparingly in the Book of Proverbs, Solomon’s other two books of scripture.
For a man to be so blessed as Solomon, and to not reference his praise to God, seems contradictory. But to be raised in the house of the King? The entitled have been among us for many years.
“Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man poor man, beggerman, thief...”
Songwriter Josh Cohen wrote this for a song lyric.
Without the Holy Spirit, we are lumped together with all of these.
Today's Audio Message:
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 - "Common To Man: The Vanity of Humanity"
While looking back at his life, Solomon realizes that once he’s dead, once everyone is for that matter, everything a person has acquired is left behind. You can’t take it with you. Even more on point, both rich and poor end up in the ground just the same.
People chase after everything. They want and they get, yet they are never satisfied. They bypass the good for what they think is the best. Their insatiable appetite is wasted on wishing for things they don’t have. But in the end, none of the things we’ve tangibly built here go with us. People work so hard to prolong their lives, invest in the world but most don’t take that same amount of energy to invest in their own spiritual health and relationship with Jesus.
The human heart is like a whining toddler who, if left to himself, will never be satisfied (Matthew 15:19; Ecclesiastes 6:9; 9:3; Jeremiah 17:9). We tend to constantly demand more, more more! We want bigger, better, flashier! We want to be the best, build the biggest, earn the most and be the wisest. But when our hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit, the demands of our hearts can be brought under His control (Galatians 5:16–17). We recognize that God has provided all we need for our present happiness, and we can, therefore, experience satisfaction. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).
When we recognize that our Creator created us with a purpose, and that is to simply to reflect the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 5:20), we will be satisfied. When we make it our goal to live for Christ, the result is a satisfaction that carries into eternity. Even when enduring life's struggles, our souls know this state is temporary and our eternal satisfaction is just ahead. “You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11; cf. Matthew 6:19–21).
