"Everything is Meaningless"

(based on the devotions of Selwyn Hughes: “Every Day Light”)

Ecclesiastes, Chapters 1 & 2

Sunday, July 10, 2011 (Picnic at the Park)

Introduction: Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, the son of King David. This book is Solomon’s commentary on his search for happiness in a world of pleasure and possessions. His goal is to guide us; to help us learn from his mishaps. In the end, you will see how Solomon makes life with God the focal point of faith.

Solomon starts off by talking about how life is meaningless. I have counseled many people who felt that their life was meaningless. These are people who have college degrees. Who are seemingly happily married with good kids. Who have good, productive jobs. Who are surrounded by many possessions. Yet, they tell me that they feel like their life is meaningless and that they don’t feel like they have purpose in this world.

How can this be? I believe that by looking at the book of Ecclesiastes we will be able to get a clearer picture of this! So let’s get into it.

I. Meaningless- (Ecclesiastes 1:1-9)

a. Futility of life- Going back to the people I have counseled, the fear

that is experienced is when they come face to face with what seems like futility. The truth is, their life is not meaningless, they have just lost the focus of where their meaning is to come. When they tried to find meaning in the things of time, it became a futile endeavor because time is so fleeting. It is here, and then it is gone. What you do seems to be gone as well! And when they begin to feel this way, they might want to opt out of life all together.

We need to come to grips with Solomon’s message of this book, which is found in verse 2: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’” Now it seems like such a grim message, but it really isn’t. The truth is, seeing the futility of life is the first step to an encounter with God. If we think that life is great, and that we don’t need God (like so many do for a time), then we will live life without God being a part of it. So people go through life seeking to find happiness and meaning in things.

b. Life without God- American theologian and philosopher Francis

Schaeffer wrote: “There are times when a negative message is needed before anything positive can begin.” This is what Solomon is doing here in Ecclesiastes. Solomon is seeking to first silence us with what is futile in this world before he helps to turn our attention to the One and only reality—God. Solomon is trying to help us understand that life without God will ultimately be futile and empty.

Three things are said about a life without God—it is boring, it is fleeting, and it is repetitive. That’s why Solomon asks in verse 3, “What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” Some people really enjoy the work that they do. They love to go to work. But for the most part most people don’t. When people go to work, their thoughts are on when lunch is, and then when the end of the work day is, and what they are going to do that evening or the next weekend. To them, their work is just a way to get money so that they can do other things and pay the bills!

However, if we do not see work as a way that we can imitate the creativity of God, then it will indeed be boring. Every morning the sun will rise, and every night the sun will set, and then tomorrow it will happen again. ‘Life is repetitive.’

c. Nothing new under the sun- Now let me just say for a moment that

all this negativity actually teaches us a positive message. It is not really as pessi-mistic and gloomy as it might seem. There is a purpose that will come out of the thoughts that Solomon is expressing. Another way of thinking of it is that once we have allowed ourselves to look at what makes life seem empty and pointless, and then understand this perspective, we can be ready to move to God, who can show us how life is indeed vibrant and purposeful. Life is only empty and pointless when it is lived outside of the context of God.

It would be like trying to use a toaster to play basketball, or a loaf of bread as a bat in baseball. That would indeed be pointless, because they are not designed for that purpose. When life seems pointless, it is because we are not living according to the design of God, and we are trying to satisfy our lives with things that were not meant to satisfy them!

One of the reasons Solomon uses such vivid (and seemingly negative) illustrations is to break through our defensive attempts to avoid the reality of life: as he says to us in verse 9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Life will never have meaning ‘under the sun’ until we make contact with the One who is above the sun—God. When we try and find meaning apart from God, we tend to do what everyone else is doing, and we fail to see what life really is about.

II. Intellect and Pleasure- (Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:16; Genesis 3:1-13)

a. Intellectualism- Solomon turns his attention to seeking wisdom

and knowledge, thinking that gaining understanding will bring happiness. However, the truth is, the more we learn, the more we realize what we don’t know. I remember that when I first became a Christian, God wasn’t that big in my mind, because there was so much that I didn’t know about God. The more I learned, the bigger and greater God became, and the more I realized what I didn’t understand.

Knowing more isn’t always a good thing. Remember back to the book of Genesis, where we have Adam and Eve. They are content in the Garden of Eden. They have all their needs met. Along comes Satan, and he lets Eve know that there is something that she doesn’t know: Evil. She knows good, but she doesn’t know evil. Satan tells her that it is simple; all she has to do is eat of the fruit from the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil,’ and she will know evil. So she does. And Adam does. MISTAKE!! They find out (and we now know) that it wasn’t a good move. IT ISN’T ALWAYS GOOD TO KNOW EVERYTHING!

Solomon then tells us what he has learned in verses 17-18, “Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge the more grief.” As Lloyd George says, “Education without God makes clever devils.”

b. Pleasure- If there is one thing that our world knows, it is pleasure.

We have become a world of pleasure. Look around you, and what do you see? You see Casinos, and bars, and movie theatres, and concert halls, and boats, and planes, and jet skiis, and on and on it goes. I could go on for hours talking about all the many things that exist to bring us pleasure. Yet we are as unfulfilled a generation as has ever existed. Pleasure pleases, but it is powerless to quench the ache that exists in the soul.

In Ecclesiastes, chapter 2, Solomon goes on to list the many pleasures he sought in his life: laughter, great projects, buying slaves, buying herds and flocks, a harem, and on and on. Then he says in verses 10-11, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. ¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

Solomon is not saying that these things didn’t bring him some pleasure; they did. The point he is making is that this kind of pleasure is temporary; it does not last. The enjoyment from these experiences fades away, and one is left wanting again.

c. Folly- Solomon wants us to understand that he is not crazy, as

some thought because of all of his negative rants. He says in 2:9, “…In all of this my wisdom stayed with me.” He then turns his attention back to wisdom, in comparison to folly. As he wonders in verse 15- “Then I said to myself, ‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said to myself, ‘This too is meaningless.’” He is wondering if it would be better to live the life of a fool. Maybe knowing too much wasn’t the best thing.

This doesn’t last too long, as he realizes it is not good to be a fool. But he comes to understand that both the foolish and the wise will both die. When they die they will no longer be remembered. However, he does realize that if life is lived for God, then a person’s life can have meaning and impact. And so he turns his attention to living a life that is pleasing to God.

III. Pleasing God- (Ecclesiastes 2:17-26; Colossians 3:17)

a. Life in the real world- Solomon has come full circle understanding

that there is nothing in this world—no person, place, or thing—that can meet the deepest ache in our soul. At first, this is a solemn moment, feeling as if this existence is meaningless. It faces us to deal with the frustrations of life.

Solomon starts with work. Work can be a great frustration. How many people are in jobs that are not satisfying? How many people do not enjoy the work they do? Maybe it is because they do not see it as an opportunity to let their creativity come out. Maybe it is because they are not seeing their work as an opportunity to shine God through their lives. As the apostle Paul says in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Work becomes more meaningful if we do it for the Lord, and do it in a way that brings glory to God.

Solomon is not putting work down, but he is saying that work is not where life is to be found. How many people work too much? How many people put their work before their families? How many times has work come between a husband and his wife? People do this thinking they are being good providers, or are leaving some kind of a legacy. As with everything else, in regards to bringing fulfillment, Solomon says that work is meaningless. This is because the true meaning of life is not found in the things that are temporary, but in that which is eternal!

b. Seeking after God- The great Christian writer Oswald Chambers

once said: “No Christian makes much progress in the Christian life until he realizes that life is more chaotic and tragic than orderly.” In other words, life can be tough. The sooner we face this fact, the sooner we can deal with reality, the less expectations we will have of life, and hopefully the more we will seek after God.

In 2:24 we see some light shine through the words of Solomon, as he says: “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.” Solomon is letting us know that the ultimate meaning of life cannot be found in activities, or in pleasures, or in work. That doesn’t make them bad, it just puts them in perspective. Our true value of life should not be sought in what we do, but in who we know!

Solomon comes to understand that it is God who brings fulfillment to our lives. He says in verse 25, “For without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment.” God can make the things we do worthwhile. God can help us to find enjoyment in our activities, our work, even our eating and drinking.

Conclusion: When God is not first in our lives, then everything else around us loses its meaning. In truth, we tend to make many of these pursuits idols in our lives. When we seek anything other than God to try and fulfill us, in essence that becomes our god.

On the flip side, as Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 2:26, “To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand over to the one who pleases God…”

If you are feeling like life is meaningless, if you are feeling a lack of purpose in your life, maybe it is because you are trying to find fulfillment in the wrong things. Your focus is too much on this world and the things of this world, and not enough on God. I encourage you to evaluate your life, and see how it is out of balance. Life is meaningless when it is lived the wrong way. Life is very meaningful when it is lived for God. Amen.