Living
in an advertisement-saturated world, we find it increasingly difficult to achieve
a life of contentment. The incessant bombardment of commercial is making many a
dissatisfied lot of people. Many are getting increasingly restless and
frustrated, feeling unable to attain what they were falsely conditioned to
believe is a better life. Haven’t we seen people hankering for a more prestigious
job, a fatter pay-check, a bigger house or a swanker car? Even after attaining
each, life is still as mundane, the same, lame and tame and as dissatisfying as
ever. We have established earlier that happiness and meaning in life cannot be
found in the things we crave for. They cannot guarantee our satisfaction.
The
preacher seemed to catch a glimpse of what he should do in Ecclesiastes 5:18,
when he said “Behold, what I have seen to be good and
fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment 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.” Yet when we turn to Ecclesiastes 6, we find him
gravitating towards the same old conclusion that life is mundane and
meaningless. Solomon seemed to have forgotten what he had said, that it is God who
had given man the capacity to enjoy what was given to them. In Ecclesiastes 6,
he saw life as a long list of disappointments. Like him, this has left many with
a serious question about God.
The first on
his list of disappointments is that in life, satisfaction is never a guarantee.
So, he said, “There is an evil that I have seen under
the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives
wealth, possessions, and honour, so that he lacks nothing of all that he
desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger
enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.” This man in focus had it
all. He was rich, famous and lacking nothing, yet he found life not enjoyable. He
is certainly a stark contrast to the man we saw in Ecclesiastes 5:18 who was
told to enjoy what God had given him. This man in Ecclesiastes 6 despite having
much, had no capacity to enjoy it. This Solomon said is a grievous evil. This
is certainly a timely reminder that money and all we have do not guarantee
satisfaction. It is one thing to have wealth and another to enjoy it. The
difference is the God factor. Without Him, life will always lack contentment.
It is only as we stay focused on Him, serve His purpose, then only can we enjoy
the gift that He has given us.
Since
wealth does not guarantee satisfaction, Solomon seems to propose in verses 3-6
that being dead would then be better off. Here he compares a man who has been
blessed with everything in life yet dissatisfied, to a child that’s stillborn
and never saw the light of day. He concludes that the latter is better
off. Though this man is rich and had a long
life and plenty of children yet his soul is not comforted. It is very likely
that God is missing in his life. He is lacking spiritually. We conclude thus
because we are told that it’s his soul that is dissatisfied. At death he was
not given a decent burial. No clue was given to why he was not properly buried.
This is by way of saying that he left this earth unnoticed and unfulfilled. Bear
in mind that what the preacher had said in these 6 verses reminds us of how
needful it is for us to have God in our life. Having wealth is good, enjoying
life is great, but nothing will really matter when God is left out of the
equation of our life. Romans 11:36 says “For from him and
through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” It reminds us that all things we need to honour
God and live an effective life, begins at God’s initiation, and are sustained
in Him and will culminate in Him. Let us always put God’s purpose first. Then there
will be great satisfaction and achievement!
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