Ecclesiastes part 6
Ecclesiastes part 6 | Finding Joy in Your Work
“Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work we go!”
I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but these little guys were loaded. Think about it. Seven guys, with no families, work in a diamond mine digging up precious stones every day. And by the looks of those beards, they have been doing it for a long time. Now, some of you might think they’re poor because of their clothes and that cabin in the woods, but the truth is, some of the wealthiest people you ever meet don’t flaunt their wealth.
But much more than their wealth, the thing that always struck me was the joy they had for digging in a mine. It’s a very different attitude than the country song. But, I guess that’s the difference between digging in a coal mine and digging in a diamond mine. Or perhaps it’s just the attitude of the worker? That’s the principle we are looking at today, but first, let’s review how far we’ve come.
First, I’d like to reintroduce Ecclesiastes as Wisdom. The goal of the book is to point us toward a better way of living. It is a philosophical book in that the writer wants us to have a better life, and the principles he describes are to help us in that way. Remember in 12:11, he writes,
“The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.”
Though sometimes Ecclesiastes can be jarring or difficult to understand, it is meant to drive us forward to better living. Before going further with our next theme, it may help to have a quick review of the themes we have surveyed in Ecclesiastes.
Week 1: We began with an introduction to the book noting its difference from Proverbs and Job. Particularly, we noted the speaker is bookended by a narrator who helps put the wisdom in perspective. The Preacher is looking under the sun, and many times when we only look under the sun, we can become disheartened. The narrator reminds us to look above the sun—God is with us, and that makes all the difference.
Week 2: We examined the principle “Time marches on.” No matter what we do in this life, time will continue to march on. Accepting this truth will drive us toward better priorities and better choices.
Week 3: We examined the failure of materialism and commercialism to give us fulfillment. Whether looking at the ancient world, the present world, or even some point in the future, there is never a time where our stuff is going to fulfill our hearts. The grass will always seem better on the other side.
Week 4: We examined the need to examine our priorities. We can choose the good in this life, the better, or the best. We noted how sometimes the best doesn’t seem like the best on the surface, but we can know God has our best in mind for us—so follow Him.
Week 5: We examined the fact that justice is just as fleeting as money and fun. It is wonderful when governments behave and courts are impartial. But, we cannot be surprised when governments and courts become corrupt. After all, they are run by humans, and humans have a tendency to sin. We do what we can with what God has given us, and let Him sort out the rest.
This brings us to today. Today we begin something of a two-part ending. It’s two parts, because the wisdom of Ecclesiastes brings us to two conclusions. The first deals with life under the sun, and the second concerns eternity.
Let’s begin in Ecclesiastes 2:18-26 with a conclusion for under the sun.
Enjoy the Work while you have it | Ecc 2:18-26
18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment[a] in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him[b] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
The Preacher laments the fact that sometimes our great labors are left to people who squander it. If you live in Arkansas for any extended period of time, you will probably hear the story of Sam Walton. Sam Walton built Walmart into the great commercial empire that it is. For a time, Sam Walton was the richest man in the US. He founded Walmart and Sam’s Club on a particular set of principles that made them what they are. When he died in 1992, the company had already been a publicly traded corporation for 20 years, which meant it was in the hands of a board rather than the family. This was a wise move on Sam’s part, because as anyone who lived around Little Rock or Bentonville can attest, his kids fell far from the tree.
It’s a sad story, but it is one that many people can share. We’ve all known great people whose kids, or those who followed them, just couldn’t live up to the same standards. Here, the Preacher notes how we can’t control what happens after us.
Dave Ramsey has a whole series on building a legacy and changing your family tree. And yet, at the end, we leave our work for someone else to steward.
So, what do we do with this fact? Verse 24 has the answer:
Enjoy the work while you have it, because it comes from the hand of God.
We honor God by honoring the work He has given us. And in turn, He blesses the work. Look at verse 26 again. To the one who please God, God grants wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But the sinner must gather his work only to give it to someone else.
Notice the difference is not in what happens to the work. Whether we honor God with our work or not, what we build will inevitably go to someone else…because we’ll be dead. The difference is the attitude. We can honor God with the work and be blessed. Or, we can dishonor Him, and the work will be a curse.
Our attitude about our work determines whether the work will be a blessing or a curse.
The Preacher picks up this theme again in chapter 5.
Finding joy in the daily work | Ecc 5:13-20
13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.
18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment[a] in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Verse 15 is a reminder that we entered this world with nothing, and we will leave this world with nothing. The old saying, “You can’t take it with you when you go” is just as true today as it was 3000 years ago.
Look at verse 18, again, and you’ll notice it repeats 2:24. Verses 19 and 20 expand this principle. The wisdom is to find joy in the present moment. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
Compare this attitude to Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24
Paul is writing to slaves specifically here, but the principle holds true for all of us. Our work is given to us by God, and so we work with the attitude that we are working for God. One day, we will find ourselves doing something else…whether because we change careers, or because the Lord brings us home. Whatever the case, we can find joy in the work when we remember Who we are working for.
The joy for daily work comes when we remember we work for the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 5 also points us to a New Testament truth, as well. On this side of the cross, we know that Christ is working to bring about a new heaven and new earth. That means our daily work also has future consequences. Though we may not have any say in what happens to our legacy when we die, we know that when we put our work in God’s hands, it fulfills His purpose.
Turn with me to John 6.
Jesus has just fed the 5,000 and walked crossed the water to Capernaum—two major signs that point to His divinity. Now, the crowds went looking for Him, and they find Jesus on the other side which sparks this conversation.
Working for the Bread of Life | John 6:25-29
5 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Jesus calls them out for really just wanting a free lunch. He tells them to not work for food that perishes, but instead work for the food that endures to eternal life.
So, they ask, what should they do to be doing the works of God? Jesus answers them in verse 29, and that is a verse you should highlight in your Bible. It is a seemingly obscure verse, but it helps put the principle from Ecclesiastes into a New Testament perspective.
Ecclesiastes reminds us that the work we perform, the success we have, the buildings we build, the legacy that we spend our whole lives building, will eventually disappear. Someone else will take over, and we have no say in how they spend our wealth. But, there is One who endures forever—the Lord. We will look at that principle next week, but for today, we can remember that God has given us work to do, and that work can be joyful when we remember Who we really work for.
Jesus says to the truly eternal work is believing in Him who God sent.
Now, in times past, some Christians have believed this to mean that we should all head out to the desert, or some other faraway place, in order to leave this world. But Scripture does not advocate that we all desert daily life. In fact, as Christians we are called to engage with daily life in order that more will know the saving power of Christ. When we put Ecclesiastes with John 6, what we find is:
By knowing Jesus, our daily work becomes a work for God, and to God, in order to build His Kingdom on Earth.
Our daily work is part of honoring God, and we are told that when we honor God with our work, He will bring us wisdom, knowledge, and joy. If you didn’t highlight Ecclesiastes 2:26, this is a good time to do it.
Couple Ecclesiastes 2:26 with John 6, John 15:1-17, and Matthew 6:33, and what you find is this:
God uses the mundane to build His Kingdom.
It is fine to want to do “big things” for God, but really God is interested in us being faithful with the “little things.” After all, that’s what the parable of the talents is all about. Be faithful in the work God has given you, and He will multiply that work for His Kingdom.