Ecclesiates 6

Sermon preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore
by Pastor Dr Paul Choo
on 19 Feb 2006

1. A very common problem! (vs.1-2):
In this age of plenty, people living in wealthy nations own more and more. Such people can literally buy what their hearts desire – and they often do so. However, though there is almost no limit to what we can own, there is a low limit on our time and ability to enjoy our possessions!
For example, a rich man’s ability to eat is limited by his stomach. His large wardrobe of clothes is limited by the time he has to wear each article of clothing. The facilities in his condominium are mostly unused by him because of lack of time and energy after a hard day’s work. The ability to enjoy the speed and maneuverability of his expensive car is limited by the ridiculously low speed limits of the country.
Furthermore, many rich people have even less ability to eat food because of appetite, weight and health problems. They often don’t look good in fashionable clothes because of their looks, shape or age. Many cannot use their condo facilities because they lack the skills to use them and the time to learn those skills. Many of those who own fast cars have slow reflexes and many of those who own large cars have poor spatial judgment. Many of those who own expensive gadgets lack the aptitude to use the features on their gadgets.
Verse 8 says: “For what has the wise more than the fool?” The answer to this question is: “A lot more things but not necessarily a lot more joy!” In other words, God is much fairer than He appears to be. He wisely equalizes the inequalities. For example, in the area of leisure travel, the young person has time and energy but no money; the career person has energy and money but no time; and the retiree has money and time but no energy.
The Golden Mean is described in Proverbs 30:8,9. Since there is danger in having too much (Ecclesiastes 5:13) or too little, most people choose to err on the side of having more – reasoning that the increased enjoyment will outweigh the increased danger. This logic has produced an epidemic of workaholicism – from the cradle to the grave. Today, we learn that more possessions do not necessarily produce more pleasure.
2. Laboring for strangers (v.2):
The comforts of a rich man’s home and the leftovers from a rich man’s table are usually enjoyed by his servants. The pleasure of driving the ultimate driving machine is largely enjoyed by his driver. Many articles of luxury clothing are barely used by the owner but are hereafter enjoyed by those charity cases who ultimately receive them.
Often the “son” who inherits all the labor is a “stranger” to his father because in the midst of all the hard work there was no time for family communications.
3. A worthless life and a frightening end! (vs.3-6):
A “hundred children” and “live many years” describe a life of plenty. “An untimely birth” (ie, a still-born child, a child that is born dead) describes the exact opposite, namely, no life at all. A person that has “no burial” does not mean that his corpse was left to rot above the ground but means that at his death there was no sorrow, no tears and no sense of loss. In other words, as far as others are concerned he was as good dead as alive. If one’s life is “not filled with good” (ie, satisfaction, joy and purpose) and that does not impact others, than it is better never to be born. The still-born achieves nothing but has “more rest.” According to this standard, many have lived worthless lives. All people “go to one place” called death. It is a frightening end because “it is appointed unto men one to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
4. Laboring for our Belly (v.7):
Man is unique among God’s creation because he has to work extremely hard to feed himself. This is the consequence of Adam’s sin (Gen 3:17-19). He not only has to work hard to produce his food but also has to work hard to prepare his food and to satisfy his hard-to-please appetite.
5. Impressing those who don’t care (v.8):
“What hath the poor that knoweth to walk before the living” is a rhetorical question whose answer is “They expected others to be impressed by their behavior and love them but the truth is they were disappointed!” Men believe that if they dress well and “carry themselves” impressively then they will be respected and loved. This stems from men’s deep quest for love and acceptance. The truth is that man is basically so self-centered that he thinks that others are always looking at him and little does he realize that others are so self-centered that they have little time to look or think about others. Therefore, much of our efforts to “walk impressively” are futile. And even if we managed to impress the crowds, so what did we get out of it?
6. A wandering desire (v.9):
It is better to be satisfied with what we have (ie, “the sight of the eyes”) than to do always desire what we don’t have. Many people never have time to enjoy what they have because they are always yearning for what they don’t have. This is the common cause of unhappy marriages and families. It is not wrong to want to improve matters but there must be a balance of thankfulness and ambition.
7. There is nothing that is really new (v.10):
We are often troubled by events around us (eg. quarrels, wars, violence, divorce, generation gap, teenage problems) and think that we are a unique generation that is experiencing unique experiences. The reality is that basic human nature is the same though the “wrappers” are different. This is the reason why subjects that teach human nature (eg. literature, history, sociology) will always be important.
8. Don’t fight God! (v.10-12):
We have learned many lessons today but probably the most important one is that “we should not contend with him that is mightier,” especially someone as mighty as God! The result of most wrong choices is a miserable life. But the result of contending directly against God is far more serious and eternal (“for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun”).