Ecclesiastes part 3
The Failure of Being a Hamster
I’ve never been a fan of hamsters. It’s essentially a mouse without a tail. But still, I’ve also always kind of felt bad for them as pets. They spend their lives in this little cage with their little wheel. That wheel spins and spins, but it never goes anywhere. The poor hamster spends a lot of energy to get…nowhere.
But, sometimes I think about how many people are like that poor little hamster. Spinning their wheels as fast they can, but never really accomplishing anything. It is a horrible feeling—one I strive to avoid. I cannot stand the feeling of overworked with nothing to show for it.
As we continue our look at Ecclesiastes, the Preacher is going to share with us the futility of spinning our wheels seeking fulfillment in the “things of life.”
Pursuit for Fulfillment | Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.
So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
The Preacher devises a test for his life. It follows his pursuit of wisdom that is described in chapter 1. There is an old adage that says, “Ignorance is bliss.” 1:18 states the opposite is true as well. “With much wisdom is much vexation.” The Preacher has realized the plight of humanity in his pursuit of wisdom, and so, he decides to pursue pleasure in its many forms in order to discern what kind of meaning he can derive from life’s pursuits. Many of the pursuits described in 2:1-11 will resurface in Ecclesiastes, but for now, I’d like to draw us to the main point: the Preacher is seeking fulfillment through the joys of life and is left wanting.
The pursuit of pleasure as a means of fulfillment is the hamster’s pursuit on its wheel.
Everything he finds leaves him wanting something more. Laughter is a waste of time. Building projects, both of buildings and of gardens never cease. There can always be bigger and better estates. The pleasures of this world are fleeting.
Look again at what the Preacher has pursued in these 11 verses.
Entertainment - verse 2
Alcohol/folly - verse 3
Estates & Buildings - verses 4-6
Wealth of slaves, herds, treasure and concubines - verses 7-8
Then, in verse 9 he sums up all that he accomplished as surpassing all who were in Jerusalem—he is at the pinnacle of success. Whatever he wanted (verse 10), he took for himself. No pleasure was left on the table.
And at the very peak of success, what does he conclude in verse 11?
It was all just chasing the wind with nothing to be gained.
If we feel empty at the bottom, we will still feel empty at the top.
The treasures of “success” are just like everything else in this world—temporary.
For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18b
The truly eternal things in life are the things unseen. Turn with me to chapter 4 and see that the Preacher discovers this truth.
Pursuit from Envy | Ecclesiastes 4:4-6
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
The Preacher looks around to see why people are so eager to work themselves to death, and he realizes it stems from a bad case of ‘keeping up with the Jones’. Verse 4 is one of those verses that explain both why people shy away from studying Ecclesiastes and why preachers tend to shy away from preaching it. It is a piercing critique for the modern world. We work, we build, and we praise ourselves for our great achievements, and yet, the real reason for the world’s great achievements boils down to envy. We want the shinier boat, the newer toys, the bigger house, the better (fill in the blank here). But it’s all just chasing the wind.
There will always be someone with the bigger this or the better that. It is utter foolishness to strive after a house your neighbors never visit, or a car to impress people you’ll never meet, or that somehow happiness is just one more credit card purchase away.
Consumerism is an idol that leaves us as empty and unfulfilled as any stone statue.
And just like any idol, it will drive us to all kinds of evil.
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:10
We are all susceptible to the Siren Call of money, but if we head off course, we will hit the rocks.
Now, verses 5 and 6 present a set of proverbs in tandem which give us a balance to view wealth. Christians are notorious for falling into one of two extremes—either the belief that wealth itself is evil, or that poverty is a sign of laziness or impiousness. Consequently, the entire book of Job speaks to this false understanding, much like Jesus explains in Matthew 5 and John 9–wealth or poverty is not a sign of God’s favor.
“The fool folds his hands and ruins himself” is fairly self-explanatory. If we sit and wait for things to happen, or for wealth to come to us, we will wait until our deaths. If we want anything in this life, we must earn it. And this current trend of spreading money around as though giving money to those who haven’t earned it will somehow “fix everything” is only going to bring us to ruin.
The next verse presents a balance to the other extreme, though. It is better to have enough and be happy, than to have more than enough filled with misery. As the great philosopher, Christopher Wallace said, “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.”
Peace in the heart and mind is the greatest wealth.
With this in mind, let’s turn to one final section in Ecclesiastes for today. Turn to Ecclesiastes 9 in which the Preacher gives us a key to happiness.
Your Life was Established On Purpose | Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Now, if you take verse 7 by itself, it can lead to the very pagan idea of “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” But, when we look at it in context, we see something more akin to Colossians 3:17:
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
Whatever we find ourselves doing, do it for the Lord. If we live our lives “in the Name of the Lord,” we will be moving away from sinful attitudes, including envy, that drag us away from God’s design. Remember, you are NOT an accident! God knew you would be who you are. He designed you as you are. The sin in our lives is NOT part of God’s design, but it is a corruption of what He designed us to be. As we turn away from sin, we discover the deep truths of Psalm 139:14:
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:14
Where we are in life, our families, our careers, our time and location, are all part of God’s design—enjoy what He has given you, because it is part of His purpose.
This is what the Preacher means by “God has already approved what you do.” This is not meant to be a blank check for doing whatever sinful desire you have. It is a reminder that God does not make mistakes. You did not wander into existence without His foreknowledge. He placed you here on purpose, and for a purpose. Enjoy that purpose!
The libertine attitude is balanced by verse 8. White garments and an oiled head are images for a pure, joy-filled life. That is why he moves directly, in verse 9, to commending life enjoyed with “the wife whom you love.” The Preacher is not commending a foolish life of debauchery—that will only lead to ruin. He is commending a life well-lived in peace, with family and friends.
Finally, he says whatever we find ourselves doing, do it with our might, because you won’t be doing much of anything when you’re laying 6 ft in the dirt. We will return to the theme of finding joy in our work, but for today, Ecclesiastes is telling us:
Enjoy the life God has given you, because one day it will be over.
Sometimes we get depressed about the “woulda, coulda, shoulda’s” or the “if only’s.” The Preacher reminds us this kind of thinking is foolish and only leads to ruin. We are reminded here God knows what He is doing, so let’s be thankful He has given us what we have.
As we close today, I want to once again look at these passages, not only on the individual level, but also at the church level.
How do we as God’s people respond to this wisdom?
First, we remember that God has created us on purpose, and placed us together on purpose. That purpose is summed up in Ephesians 2:10:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
The Father created us, the Son saved us, and the Holy Spirit empowers us “for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are here to do what God calls us to do.
God calls us to action—so act!
What should we do? Peter has an answer for us.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
1 Peter 4:10
What God has blessed us with, our talents, gifts, money and whatever else we call our own, we are to use it to serve one another. Notice Peter uses the word “stewards.” It reminds us our stuff is not actually our stuff. It is all on loan from God. Ecclesiastes calls it “your portion in life.” God grants a measure of things to each person. As a church, we gather to bring our portions together in order to work together to fulfill God’s design for our church.
We have two options in this life. We can live it for ourselves, always looking out for #1. Or, we can live it for God. Ecclesiastes reminds us that if we choose to live it for #1, we will find ourselves empty and alone—spinning our little hamster wheel to nowhere. But, if we live it for God, we will find ourselves blessed.
But we also know that our choice does not end with the grave. To live a life of selfish pursuit not only leads to ruin in this life, but it will also destroy your eternity. Turn to God, not only for blessings in this life, but also for the eternal blessing of spending eternity with Him.